Kansas City, Mo.—On behalf of the region’s leading hospitality and tourism organization, the Board of Directors for Visit KC released the following statement today:
Missouri Senate Joint Resolution 39 (SJR39), which proposes an amendment to Missouri’s Constitution allowing refusal to serve same-sex couples on religious grounds, is discriminatory, bad for business and bad for Missouri’s economy. SJR39’s language does not reflect the Kansas City tourism industry or its proud workforce. Anti-LGBT legislation of this nature also poses a serious danger to our state’s reputation, economic vitality and future growth.
Kansas City is open and welcoming to all as a diverse, hospitable destination. We assert that our State’s Constitution should reflect this sentiment. Discriminatory legislation such as SJR39 hurts the people of Missouri and has a direct negative impact on our business climate.
Visit KC is proud of our commitment to equality, inclusiveness and anti-discrimination. We stand with those who fought SJR39 and call upon the House of Representatives to right this wrong at the Statehouse. This is not who we are.
We call upon Kansas City’s civic and business leaders to speak out against this intolerance. As a proud member of the Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Visit KC supports opposition vocalized by Kansas City Mayor Sly James and Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, as well as our peer organizations such as the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Kansas City’s hospitality community will not tolerate anti-LGBT legislation. We urge our peer organizations and hometown corporations to come forward, unite and boldly assert: discrimination of any kind will not stand in Kansas City.
To read SJR39, click here. To contact members of the Missouri House of Representatives, click here.
About Visit KC
Visit KC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ignite global passion for visiting Kansas City. Through marketing, sales and service of the convention and tourism industries, Visit KC supports a vital and growing component of the local economy—generating more than 46,000 jobs and $5.1 billion in economic impact annually. For more information about the organization or Kansas City, go to VisitKC.com.