Why does affirmative action exist in conservative Southern states, but banned in liberal states?

Are all conservatives this ignorant. Hopefully not, but so far they all seem to be. Affirmative Action does not only apply to race but it also applies to age, nationality, GENDER, disabilities, religion, or anything you can think of that could be used for grounds of discrimination. That conservatives only think is about race, that is because race is the only thing they have in mind. As a Caucasian woman I am embarred that there is a racist Caucasian conservative community because I would hate to be ociated with such uneducated bigots.