Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 43, Ed. 1 Friday, March 21, 2008 Page: 26 of 128
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Tuesday although the legislature is in session.
Sources said that Kern was escorted off the
capital grounds by security shortly before the
rally, citing fear for her safety. Kem said previ-
ously that she had received death threats after
her comments became so widely publicized. But
the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was
been unable to verify the claims.
Despite receiving thousands of e-mails and
hundreds of phone calls, Kem has stood by her
statements, remaining largely silent on the issue
and granting only a few interviews.
Kem did not respond to repeated calls for
comment for this story. However, she did release
a statement last week: "To put this simply, as a
Christian I believe homosexuality is not moral.
Obviously, you have the right as an American to
choose that lifestyle, but I also have the right to
express my views and my fellow Oklahomans
have the right to debate these issues,"
Kern made headlines in 2006 when she
authored legislation that would require
Oklahoma libraries to restrict access to books
about homosexuality, including children's
books such as "King and King," which features
a story about two princes who fall in love.
Rob Howard, executive director of The
Cimarron Alliance, an Oklahoma City-based
human rights organization, also spoke at the rally.
"How brave is it for a lawmaker of our state
to suggest that an entire community of her fel-
low citizens are a bigger threat than terrorism?"
Howard said. "How can Rep. Kem sing about
the land of the free and impugn another's reli-
gion? How can she swear to uphold the
Constitution and say that not all religions are
JON MNEWKC.com
Rob Howard, above, and the Rev. Robin Myers, right, were
among those who spoke at the Tuesday rally protesting
Sally Kern's anti-gay comments.
equal? It is words like hers that send a message
to people who are motivated by hate."
Historically, Oklahoma lawmakers have been
reluctant to support gay rights initiatives. In
2004, more than 70 percent of voters approved
an amendment to the state Constitution that
defined marriage as a union between one man
and one woman.
More recently, the federal courts overturned a
anti-gay adoption bill that would have stripped
all same-sex couples of parental rights in adop-
tions. This law would have also applied to any
couple simply traveling through the state.
y'For 30 years, LGBT Oklahomans have
endured a relentless assault on our civil liberties.
Public figures from former Miss Oklahoma
Anita Bryant to State Rep. Sally Kem have
flogged the LGBT community from the pulpit to
the courts and in this very building," said Tulsa-
based Oklahomans for Equ ality President Laura
Belmonte, another rally speaker. "Today we say
enough and stand in dignity and solidarity for
ourselves, for our loved ones and for the future
of a better Oklahoma."
Last year, Oklahoma City native Steven
Domer was allegedly murdered in an anti-gay
"chip ritual" by a member of the Aryan Nation.
The crime has renewed pressure for a compre-
hensive state hate crimes law that includes sex-
ual orientation and gender identity.
Democratic legislators submitted four bills
but all are expected to die in committee.
Kem, a former school teacher and the wife of
a Baptist minister, has asserted that her opinion
is based on Biblical teachings and represents the
views of most Oklahoma residents. Local reli-
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 43, Ed. 1 Friday, March 21, 2008, newspaper, March 21, 2008; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth239004/m1/26/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.