Senator Tim Philpot press articles, Part One

ETHICS BOARD TIGHTENS RULES ON USE OF OFFICIAL STATIONERY
Associated Press
FRANKFORT --
By opting for a new guideline, the board took no direct action against Republican state Sens. Tim Philpot, R-Lexington, and Art Schmidt, R-Cold Spring, who wrote the latest disputed letters.
Each used Senate letterhead to criticize endorsements that a third senator, Democrat Joe Meyer of Covington, received from abortion opponents.
Philpot, whose letter was to the director of Kentucky Right to Life, said in an interview he thought his use of legislative stationery to discuss an issue -- abortion -- was justified.
"They just spent an hour and a half discussing official stationery," Philpot said of the board. "To me, it's a joke, considering all that's going on."

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
April 10, 1997
Section: Local News
Edition: Final
Page: C1

ETHICS PANEL SCOLDS PHILPOT OVER LETTERS
Jack Brammer, Herald-Leader Frankfort Bureau
FRANKFORT - The Legislative Ethics Commission has scolded state Sen. Tim Philpot, R-Lexington, for using official Senate stationery to raise money for a Christian missionary group he soon will lead.
Philpot, an attorney who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, said yesterday that he deserved the reprimand and was glad it was public.
In December, Philpot mailed about 3,000 letters - 2,000 of them to people within the state - seeking money for the Christian Business Men's Committee International of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Philpot, the unpaid vice president of the religious group, will become the group's president in June. He will leave his law practice and eventually will receive a $55,000 annual salary in that post.
The son of the late evangelist Ford Philpot said that God had called him to leave politics and the law for international evangelism.
"I am sorrowful because my Dec. 19 letter turned out to be `bad news' about me, instead of `good news' about Jesus," Philpot said in the letter to the newspapers. "But I felt the public deserved to know what was done," he said.


Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
March 28, 1997
Section: Local News
Edition: Final
Page: B1
LIMIT SOUGHT IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW
Darla Carter, Herald-Leader Staff Writer
Sen. Tim Philpot is pushing to amend the state's domestic violence statute to prevent judges from giving protective orders to members of gay and lesbian couples.
But the measure is likely to face opposition from victims' advocates and others who say the statute should remain gender-neutral.
What Philpot said
"We need to remember that activities which many heterosexuals would consider aberrant forms of violent behavior, such as sadomasochism, seem to be more accepted in the homosexual subculture. I think we need to ask whether laws having to do with more clear-cut situations of women who are being beaten by men can be applied fairly to these other kinds of situations. I think there is a question whether this would even be fair to homosexuals
"If violence among homosexuals is so profound that they need special protection, the gay community needs to come forth and explain what the problem is," he said. "I can assure them they will get a hearing in my committee.

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
September 10, 1993
Section: MAIN NEWS
Edition: FINAL
Page: A1
PORNOGRAPHY PUBLIC FORUM PITS PHILPOT AGAINST ACLU
MIKE MAYHAN HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
The fireworks began even before the debate when Philpot was prohibited by an ACLU representative from showing the capacity crowd excerpts from movies with sexually descriptive titles.
"I wanted to show what obscenity really is," Philpot said. "They were purchased at The Book Store on Winchester Road. They were homosexual tapes showing anal intercourse between homosexual men, unprotected sex in which anybody involved in it could get AIDS.
Officials had to turn some people away from the debate because fire regulations do not allow more than 146 people in the library theater.
"We expected a full house, but we did not expect an overflow crowd," said library spokeswoman Mary Williams.
The debate was co-sponsored by the ACLU and Heart for Decency.


Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
March 21, 1998
Section: Main News
Edition: Final
Page: A10
HATE-CRIME PROVISION SURVIVES
Chad Carlton, HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
FRANKFORT - Republican lawmakers tried unsuccessfully yesterday to remove from a wide-ranging crime bill tougher penalties for people who commit hate crimes.
Sen. Tim Philpot touched off a verbal backlash from Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee by claiming that gay men are the greatest source of violence against themselves because they spread AIDS.
"The lifestyle itself is extremely destructive," said Philpot, R-Lexington . He added, "The real problem of violence in the gay community is they are hurting each other."
Philpot's amendment would have removed portions of the bill that would increase penalties for people who commit crimes against people because of their race, color, religion or national origin.
"I don't think hate-motivated crime should be punished at a greater level than greed-motivated crime," he said. he said, homosexuals are "the primary form" of anti-gay violence, via the spread of AIDS.
"All I'm trying to say to the gay community is, `Your conduct is killing you; therefore, don't do it,' " Philpot said.



January 14, 2004
Section: Main News
Edition: Final
Page: A1
PHILPOT APPOINTED AS FAMILY COURT JUDGE
CONSERVATIVE'S CRITICS, SUPPORTERS SPEAK OUT
Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Herald-Leader Staff Writer
Gov. Ernie Fletcher yesterday named former state Sen. Tim Philpot as a family court judge in Fayette County, eliciting strong response from people who both support and condemn Philpot's outspoken conservatism.
But in an interview last night, Philpot, 52, promised that "I'm going to be fair to every single person who comes to court and I'm going to follow the law." He said being a circuit judge in family court, "is going to be the highest calling in my life."
In a 1998 interview as he prepared to leave the legislature, Philpot said he felt called to fight what he called "the gay lifestyle."
"I think it is a destructive lifestyle, one that leads to destruction," he said at the time. "It doesn't mean you hate homosexuals. It's just that I believe that I should stop them. It's a behavior, it's not genetic."
Philpot said that, although he expressed many personal views as a member of the legislature from 1990 to 1998, "I'm a civil rights lawyer who happened to be a politician for a while. I'm not a politician who decided to be a judge."

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
March 27, 1998
Section: City and Region
Edition: Final
Page: B1
WOMEN'S HEALTH BILL PASSES AFTER ABORTION DEBATE
Angie Muhs, Herald-Leader Frankfort Bureau
FRANKFORT - A bill to require insurance coverage of certain women's health procedures became the latest battleground yesterday in the contentious abortion debate that has gripped this session of the General Assembly.
An amendment that would have required doctors performing abortions to tell women that the procedure could increase their risk of breast cancer provoked debate among senators.
The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Tim Philpot, R-Lexington, eventually failed, with 13 senators supporting it and 18 opposing it. The bill went on to pass 37-0.
House Bill 864 would require insurers to cover reconstructive breast surgery for women with breast cancer and testing and treatment for osteoporosis, a bone disease, and for endometriosis, a painful uterine disorder that often causes fertility problems.
It also would forbid outpatient mastectomies and would prevent insurers from denying coverage of claims resulting from domestic violence, or from classifying domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.
Philpot's amendment dominated the debate. Several senators questioned why Philpot hadn't dealt with the issue during a previous debate on a bill to require women wanting an abortion to wait 24 hours after receiving information about the procedure, including its risks.
Senate Majority Leader David Karem, D-Louisville, said he didn't want the amendment to endanger the entire bill.
"If someone wants to make a political statement, please use another vehicle," he said.
Philpot contended that numerous studies had found that women who had an abortion were at higher risk for developing breast cancer - a conclusion that several other senators questioned.
"I'm interested in the health of women," Philpot said. "Women who are seeking voluntary abortions should be made aware for their health and safety."
But Sen. Nick Kafoglis, a retired obstetrician-gynecologist, questioned the validity of the studies Philpot cited. He noted that another study in the New England Journal of Medicine had found that there was no link between abortion and breast cancer.
"There is no agreement in he scientific community on this question," said Kafoglis, D-Bowling Green. "That should be argument enough not to put something into law when there is a question about it."
Other senators questioned the wisdom of letting the General Assembly dictate medical protocol.
Sen. Fred Bradley, addressing his remarks to the 35 other male senators, told them the matter was similar to making a blanket recommendation that men should automatically have their testicles removed if a test for prostate cancer came back positive.
"Do you want a legislator telling you that everybody should tell you to have their testicles removed if you have a high PSA test? No," Bradley said.
Philpot, who was clearly frustrated by the debate, argued at one point that the American Medical Association was "pro-abortion" and that doctors couldn't necessarily be trusted to tell women that abortion and breast cancer might be linked.
In an emotional speech after the amendment was defeated, Philpot accused some senators of abandoning their principles.
"I especially don't understand the so-called pro-life members of this body who voted against this amendment, who voted with all the pro-abortion ladies," he said. "I don't understand the ladies in the back of this room that are celebrating that women won't know about the connection between breast cancer and abortion."
Philpot apparently was referring to a group of several female legislators and first lady Judi Patton, who had endorsed the bill.
Rep. Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington, the bill's sponsor, said she was happy that Philpot's amendment did not sidetrack a valuable piece of legislation.
"The important thing is that this body didn't fail to recognize the importance of women's health," she said.
Patton said that she was "surprised (the amendment) was put on" the bill.
"I thought they took care of that yesterday," she said, referring to the 24-hour waiting period bill.
Tim Philpot's abortion amendment failed, 18-13.