Cody Malvitz
Monday, September 28, 2015 2:15 pm

MURRAY, Ky. -- Murray State University is hosting the 20th "Come Together Kentucky" Oct. 23-25. The Come Together Kentucky conference targeted toward LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) college students, high school students, community members and the ally community. The conference is free to all who want to attend.

This year's conference theme is "With Liberty and Justice for All." The conference will focus on LGBTQ identity, social justice and fostering community, while providing networking opportunities. Participants in the conference will experience a weekend-long professional and interactive conference with keynote speakers, programming sessions and social activities.

Come Together Kentucky's keynote speakers include Brandie Balken, program director of the Gill Foundation, and Carly Lehwald, a trans advocate and a cast member of ABC Family's Becoming Us. The conference also features keynote addresses from Roey Thorpe, director of advocacy programs for the Equality Federation and Alabama State Rep. Patricia Todd, who is also the director of the Human Rights Campaign for Alabama.

"The theme, 'With Liberty and Justice for All,' provides a space for individuals to celebrate recent progress for LGBTQ equality, while also hearing from nationally recognized speakers and participating in discussions on some of the ongoing struggles that remain for underrepresented populations in Kentucky and around the country," said Jody Cofer Randall, LGBT coordinator at Murray State.

Early registrants are guaranteed a Come Together Kentucky t-shirt, a Talon Falls Scream Park ticket and some complimentary meals during the conference. Those items may also be given to later registrants, if available. To learn more about Come Together Kentucky or to register, go online at murraystate.edu/ctk.