Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern recently was recorded stating the homosexuality was more of a threat to the United States than terrorism (or Islam, her words). Apparently we're also trying to recruit 2-year olds into our lifestyle.
Here are some links to coverage.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/03/10/dnt.ok.lawmaker.anti.gay.kwtv (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNc61BsEvmA (Full YouTube Video of the Rant)
http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=7983168 (Local Coverage)
Submitted by
on March 10, 2008 - 2:07pm.
a.b. knowles wrote...
I found this post in the blog about Lawrence King and wanted to cross-post it here because of the great links.
if you haven't seen/heard the video showing a state representative from oklahoma giving an anti-gay tirade you should. show it to your friends too. when people, especially those who represent us, are not outed for making such hateful speech it can be seen as quiet acceptance of their views. stand up for your glbt neighbors, friends, youth and our straight allies. oklahoma may seem far away from your glbt community, but we're all connected.
here's a link to the video: http://www.victoryfund.org/listening
Email: sallykern@okhouse.gov
Let's let her hear from us, we have the means to do so and should express our outrage over her comments.
_________
Well...
I don't know what happened with my computer but I was unable to watch the videos, but I read the article about what she said...I couldn't make my choice between laughing or crying. In fact when she said "it has deadly consequences", I laughed because this is one of the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Tell me everyone, have you ever died for kissing another woman? The only woman that could be in danger is shane in the L word because she's always getting into trouble but beside her, no really I can't see what she means about deadly consequences.
I don't understand why some people are so affraid of us, we're not a danger to anyone!! Gay people exists from the beginning of human kind! We're not here to kill straight people and dominate the world. PFFF. And I always asked myself this question : Why do they care about what we're doing in our beds??? I don't care about who she's dating!
wtf!
"what the what?" Tina Fey.
video trouble
thanks
Thank you for your link, it worked this time! Well...Now that I've listenned to the whole speech, I feel speechless...She's crazy I think, and above all paranoid.
"what the what?" Tina Fey.
unbelievable
Things like this make me glad that we don't have freedom of speech in the U.K.
If she would have said this in England she would have probably been arrested for inciting hate.
This is crazy.
Troubled, very troubled!
I think she ought to go in therapy!
It's ironic how she's so scared of homosexuals, when really, she's the sary one! I can't believe someone can say such mean things about something they really don't know about! And I want to see those "studies" about what happens when you accept gay people, I mean WTF? Is america so anti-gay that people get paid to prove that were some kind of cancer for society! give me a break! I hope, one day, she learns how wrong and wicked her words are.
dede :)
Reprehensible
I get so incredibly angry over things like this. If a lawmaker were to go and make a speech based on stereotypes and fear mongering about any other minority, they'd be vilified and lose their job. But because she says this about gays and uses "God" as her back-up, it's A-OK. Insane and disgusting.
She's also refused to apologize or take back any of what she said. She has said she stands 100% by what she said.
----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm not sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for what I didn't do."
Is Sally Kern's Son Gay?
So says Queerty:
Read more at Queerty.
-----
Geoffrey: You fool! As if it matters how a man falls down.
Richard: When the fall is all that is left, it matters a great deal.
- The Lion in Winter
Charmed71 wrote...
[Copied from a duplicate thread]
okc community rally
"Community Protest Rally - Friday, March 14, 5:30 to 6:30
Memorial Park - Classen sidewalk, NW 35th St at N Classen Blvd, OKC
Join Us Friday with a large group of LGBT community people and supporters to protest the outrageous remarks of State Rep. Sally Kern - and the refusal of the Speaker of the House to denounce her! Oklahoma is in the national spotlight, but now for an ugly side. By Friday we'll also know the fate of proposed hate crimes laws. The Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus is a sponsor, with many other community groups. Come make your voice heard!"
over & out!
a.b.
HRC "Take Action" Campaign
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/ok_rep_sally_kern_cen
The HRC has provided a pre-written letter, but you may add your own text (if you wish).
I've added:
"What evidence does she have to support her claims?
Has she been personally affected?
Sally Kern has no right to judge the GLBT community and what she spouts is not "truth", but her own pathetic (and misguided) personal beliefs. The GLBT community is not a threat to our nation, but hateful speech and bigotry are!
It is sad...
that she actually believes what she professes in that speech."
Totally Speechless!
I signed the HRC Take Action letter too.
Of course this was after I picked my chin up off the desk as I could not believe what I was hearing.
That is the scariest part, that people still exist who believe this nonsense.
So sad
That's the only thing that can be said about this. It's so sad, in a day and age where young people are being shot and killed for their sexual orientation that public figures would make such ill-informed and ignorant statements.
http://legallyout.blogspot.com
speechless too
... wow...
P.S. " Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality lasted more than a few decades"
ehemm... yeah.. Roman Empire ( 27 b.C. to A.D. 286 ) ... Classical Greek Period (500- 336 b.C.) .. both totally embraced homosexuality and sure... they lasted one or two decades, and had no influence whatsoever in history...
she said she is a teacher?
Agreed.
It's on!!!!
I was so shocked to hear her speech. The most incredible thing for me was the sheer stupidity of her arguments. Come on, at least try a little harder...
and I too always wonder why do homophobics like her care so much about us, why do they go to such lenghts in their prejudice? it is ok if you dont like us, no one is forced to accept everybody, but to actively seek to destroy a group of people? Just let us be! Let it go! Get a life!
I always get so mad when I read something like this happened. Even if it's not in my own country. you should see me watching a debate between some christian politicians and lgbt activists over my city's annual gay pride parade and Brazil's law on homophobia. I was so freaking mad. I wish Dawn Denbo was here to yell 'IT'S ON!', cuz it feels even more personal when it's close to you. it's such an awful feeling to be hated like this, when you havent done anything wrong. it seems that they enjoy their hatred, while we just wanna live our lives with dignity.
Im glad for people like Ellen, who stand up and publicly denounce this behavior.
www.oraculodelesbos.blogspot.com
did you see
Wanda Sykes comments on ellen after ellen made the phone call, they were hilarious,
"I hope this women gets moved up in Government so that she can pull our troops out of Iraq and invade West Hollywood"
damn that was hilarious!
I do agree though this women's arguments are utterly ridiculous, how can anyone think like that????????? although i say that going to a school where my jewish studies teachers compared homosexuals to murderers! it scares me how many people like this exist in the world!
and yet we're the ones trying to indoctrinate people....
Ignorant
And disheartening. How sad that people like Sally Kern even exist (even sadder that their paranoid minds actually believe their own drivel). And then to think people actually elect her to that position! Unbelievable! The audacity of some people, to speak of things they don't even know about. On the other hand if one of her sons is gay and she disowned him...I guess like the writer of that post is right..."a real June Cleaver" (more like a real meat cleaver or battle ax, watch out when she's around) Thanks for the link Pecola!;-)
Another good letter in response
This from a friend who had a change of heart himself from homophobe to ally after a gay friend opened up to him about his personal struggle. An important reminder amid our anger that minds and hearts can be changed.
Sally Kern,
Prefacing your hateful comments towards homosexuals with the words, "I'm a Christian," does not give you a free pass to spew bigotry without remorse.
The word Christian means "Christ-like" or "follower of Christ." And if you've every read the gospels you might have noticed that Jesus spends the majority of his time standing up for the marginalized of society and trying to convince the self-righteous religious-folk that these "unclean" persons are actually created in the image of God and therefore necessarily of sacred worth. See John 4, Luke 11:37, Luke 7:36-50 just to get started.
A wise woman recently said, "A sure sign that you've created God in your own image is when your God hates all the same people you hate." The God of the Bible does not condone your hate-speech. And your words do not prompt serious debate which you apparently want to initiate. Maybe a good way to educate yourself for this kind of debate would be to actually have a conversation with some people who are homosexual and listen to their problems. If you are actually concerned about the suicide rates of homosexuals you might be eager to know that their suicides are related to the hate-speech you so adamantly promote.
I am not gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. I'm not part of a gay-agenda that wants to indoctrinate 2 year olds. I am a Christian concerned that your statements fuel the fires of Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and others who argue that religion is the most destructive force in human history.
After I was deeply emotionally hurt by the words of a church member one Sunday, my pastor told me that "A person must be deeply wounded to have that strong of a need to wound others." I wonder if you were deeply wounded by someone and I pray that your wounds may heal. I pray that your hurting stops and that you stop hurting others.
-Mike Slack
Oklahoman and Christian
http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/03/kern-eschews-ap.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFxk7glmMbo
A Letter To Rep. Sally Kern
This is a letter was written by a straight high school senior in OK.
This letter emerges from a comment at news9.com
Today my nephew attempted to deliver a letter to Sally Kern but was stopped by a highway patrol man. With his permission I am distributing the letter to all news stations and thought I would include it here.
Maybe we can all stand to learn a listen from this smart, loving, young man. He more than most has reason to hate. He lost his mother, my sister, in the Murrah Building bombing.
On April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City a terrorist detonated a bomb that killed my mother and 167 others. 19 children died that day. Had I not had the chicken pox that day, the body count would've likely have included one more. Over 800 other Oklahomans were injured that day and many of those still suffer through their permanent wounds.
That terrorist was neither a homosexual or was he involved in Islam. He was an extremist Christian forcing his views through a body count. He held his beliefs and made those who didn't live up to them pay with their lives.
As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you.
I was five years old when my mother died. I remember what a beautiful, wise, and remarkable woman she was. I miss her. Your harsh words and misguided beliefs brought me to tears, because you told me that my mother's killer was a better person than a group of people that are seeking safety and tolerance for themselves.
As someone left motherless and victimized by terrorists, I say to you very clearly you are absolutely wrong.
You represent a district in Oklahoma City and you very coldly express a lack of love, sympathy or understanding for what they've been through. Can I ask if you might have chosen wiser words were you a real Oklahoman that was here to share the suffering with Oklahoma City? Might your heart be a bit less cold had you been around to see the small bodies of children being pulled out of rubble and carried away by weeping firemen?
I've spent 12 years in Oklahoma public schools and never once have I had anyone try to force a gay agenda on me. I have seen, however, many gay students beat up and there's never a day in school that has went by when I haven't heard the word **** slung at someone. I've been called gay slurs many times and they hurt and I am not even gay so I can just imagine how a real gay person feels. You were a school teacher and you have seen those things too. How could you care so little about the suffering of some of your students?
Let me tell you the result of your words in my school. Every openly gay and suspected gay in the school were having to walk together Monday for protection. They looked scared. They've already experienced enough hate and now your words gave other students even more motivation to sneer at them and call them names. Afterall, you are a teacher and a lawmaker, many young people have taken your words to heart. That happens when you assume a role of responsibility in your community. I seriously think before this week ends that some kids here will be going home bruised and bloody because of what you said.
I wish you could've met my mom. Maybe she could've guided you in how a real Christian should be acting and speaking.
I have not had a mother for nearly 13 years now and wonder if there were fewer people like you around, people with more love and tolerance in their hearts instead of strife, if my mom would be here to watch me graduate from high school this spring. Now she won't be there. So I'll be packing my things and leaving Oklahoma to go to college elsewhere and one day be a writer and I have no intentions to ever return here. I have no doubt that people like you will incite crazy people to build more bombs and kill more people again. I don't want to be here for that. I just can't go through that again.
You may just see me as a kid, but let me try to teach you something. The old saying is sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Well, your words hurt me. Your words disrespected the memory of my mom. Your words can cause others to pick up sticks and stones and hurt others.
Sincerely
Tucker
That's Awesome!
I'm definitely passing that letter around to everyone I know.
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Geoffrey: You fool! As if it matters how a man falls down.
Richard: When the fall is all that is left, it matters a great deal.
- The Lion in Winter
Tucker is our hope for the
give the amazing Tucker her job
The Oklahoma City bombing was the first thing I thought of when I saw Kern's little spiel. Her acidic "Christianity" and seemingly oblivious disrespect for the victims of that tragedy made me nauseous. Clearly, Tucker would be a better state representative than Ms. Kern. He is already wiser, more thoughtful, more eloquent, and more compassionate. My condolensces to him and you and all the victims of that day for your lost loved ones.
wow.
wow is all i have to say. no ms kern, people like you are going to be the downfall of this nation.
~*~Alice: Thank god you're here we're totally outnumbered. Bette: What do you mean? Alice: Straight people. Bette: Oh, Jesus.~*~
GREAT LETTER
The guy should be applauded,if only there were more people like him who realised there is so many more evil things going on in this world that who you love shouldn't even be an issue.
How is a politican allowed to spew such hateful garbage and not be in trouble.Democracy is about electing someone who will represent the people,but she is blatantly a homophobe so where is the Oaklahoma GLBT communities representation-they have non and apparently won't have any rights under her policies.Why American's elect such completely moronic officials I don't know,I don't think you should be allowed in office unless you represent every section of society.
The fact she qualified to be a teacher and could educate impressional minds and now has the power to influence law scares the hell out of me.Plus I also object to her comments on Islam,not all Islam followers are terrorists which is another thing she is misinformed about.The stupid women is a homophobic,racist bigot who justifies her ignorance through religion,she should be thrown out of office.
Rally in SUPPORT of Kern
Did you see this piece from 365gay? Rally In Support of Homophobic Lawmaker
As a fomer Oklahoman, I am not only appalled, but embarrassed. I can't believe nothing has been done.
Glad.
It's better when people are open homophobes like this woman, at least then you know what you're in for. And it shows how amazingly paranoid and delusional these people are.
_____
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H. L. MenckenI agree-- I'd rather see it