Individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender are people just like the rest of us.

If they genuine individuals, others can work with them, converse with them, befriend them. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for every resident in the state of Kansas.

On Valentine’s Day, more than 600 LGBTQ residents, allies and speakers protested at the Kansas Statehouse in response to Gov. Sam Brownback’s decision this week to end anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ state employees.

This law should not only be re-established, it should be reinforced — if not for LGBTQ individuals, then for humanity.

In less than three months after federal courts approved gay marriage in selected areas of the state — despite a ban on same-sex marriage in the Kansas constitution — Brownback decided to fight against it as well. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this summer whether all states must allow same-sex marriages.

Brownback decided to rescind an executive order given by former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination and his reasoning for doing so is one giant contradiction.

Brownback said Sebelius acted “unilaterally” in imposing such a policy in state government. He then followed up with an executive order in which he reaffirmed the state wouldn’t discriminate in hiring and employment decisions based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion or gender.

Here’s the issue: if the state doesn’t plan on discriminating in hiring and employment decisions based on race, ethnicity, national origin, etc., then why bother taking the law away? It doesn’t make sense. Would it make sense if the president and Supreme Court took away the First Amendment?

‘Oh, you have the right to speak out, and we don’t have a problem with it, but we’re just going to take away the law that protects it.’

How does that sound? Does that really sound logical?

Things are always taken away for something else to replace it, and Brownback’s sorry reasoning sounds more personal, if anything.

Despite our imperfections, we’re human beings. Somewhere in the midst of the hardships of life, we often lose sight of that. It’s easy to mock and discriminate what’s different because familiarity and comfort are safe.

There’s no growth in either of the two.

If you share similar ideologies as Brownback, ask yourself why. Why do you have a problem with another person’s personal life if it is not directly affecting you? If a transgender person is proficient in their job, why can’t you work with them? Really ask yourself.

This issue is deep-rooted, and it’s a cancer to humanity. Discriminating against LGBTQ groups is a harmful decision that will ultimately cast a shadow on all of the progress we’ve made since the Civil Rights Movement.

We’re getting better as a society, but as we continue to remedy one issue, let’s not create a new one.

—For the Editorial Board, Rahim Thompson