Oklahoma Republican lawmaker issues proclamation listing same-sex marriage among ‘forms of debauchery’ she says caused recession
Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern, who made headlines last year when anti-gay comments she made at a Republican fundraiser were secretly taped and then posted online, is back in the news after she issued her "Oklahoma Citizen’s Proclamation for Morality" before the July 4 weekend.
The proclamation blames the country’s current financial woes on a list of moral failings, including same-sex marriage and divorce along with pornography, sex trafficking, child abuse and "many other forms of debauchery."
Last year, the Republican from Oklahoma City made national news when she called homosexuality more dangerous than terrorism.
"I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat," Kern said last year.
Openly gay Oklahoma state Rep. Al McAffrey, whose district borders Kern’s, this week said, "To blame our economic woes on a national moral crisis is ludicrous. Our economic woes are a direct result of bad financial practices and a lack of regulation on Wall Street."
Oklahoma state Rep. Ryan Kiesel also condemned Kern’s proclamation. "According to that logic all those folks who were ripped off by Bernie Madoff should focus their anger at the governor of South Carolina," he said.
Kern’s proclamation goes on to criticize President Obama for not attending the annual National Prayer Breakfast and for having issued a proclamation recognizing June as National Gay Pride Month.
Kern said she and her supporters are "grieved that the office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer," and are "deeply disturbed that the office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior."
Kiesel said, "The inaccuracies in this proclamation are astounding. For starters, I distinctly remember President Obama observing the national day of prayer. I suppose he is to be admonished for not turning it into a photo opportunity like his predecessor."
In her proclamation, Kern includes quotes that she incorrectly attributes to the founding fathers.
One statement in her proclamation reads: "This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians (Patrick Henry)."
McAffrey said, "Sitting at my computer for 10 minutes, I found that two of the quotes she uses that are attributed to James Madison and Patrick Henry were fabricated. These quotes appear nowhere in the writings or records of either man, and there’s no evidence to suggest they ever said such things."
According to Snopes.com, the Henry quote is often cited but cannot be attributed to any of Henry’s writings. The line comes from a 1989 book "The Myth of Separation" written by Texas fundamentalist David Barton and is often quoted by the right wing.
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) debunked the Madison quote in 1994. They traced that misquote to Rush Limbaugh.
Another quote used to argue that the founding fathers favored a Christian nation is attributed to Thomas Jefferson. McAffrey points out that Jefferson coined the phrase "separation of church and state" in a letter he wrote in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists assuring them "a wall of separation."
"Mrs. Kern’s complete disregard for American history is appalling and inexcusable. Obviously the author of this proclamation failed to properly research the issues being addressed," McAffrey said.
"I’m appalled that Mrs. Kern chose to use a state proclamation to attack the freedom of many Oklahomans who do not share her faith or her views," he added.
Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma Corporation commissioner and Oklahoma County commissioner who is openly gay, said, "Sally Kern represents the most unqualified of public officials who has to create distractions by attacking people in hopes of creating a diversion away from her own pathetic record of service."
In her three-term legislative career, Kern has authored little legislation. Her bill last year to give students in earth science classes passing grades for spouting "Young Earth Creationism" passed the House and died in the Senate. Her "Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act" included a provision that "students shall not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of their work." That bill passed but was vetoed by the governor.
Kern has been stopped twice entering the state capitol with a loaded semiautomatic firearm.
E-mail taffet@dallasvoice.com
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 10, 2009.
I am embarrassed to be from Oklahoma with a close minded bigot like that in office. I am so glad I don’t live there anymore.
Yes, our majority “DINK: Dual Income No Kids” must be a huge burden on our underspending economy. I mean, with all this disposable income, what’s a guy to do? I mean we certainly wouldn’t spend it on a wedding now… or would we? We would never pour our money in to tuxedo purchases, honey moon vacations, venue rentals, gifts, catering, elaborate cakes or flowers. We certainly would not have any flowers.
THe OKC site has pics of Kern with some pro apartheid white supremacist types. ANd looks like Sally KKKern may just be having an affair..
https://gossip-boy.com/Morality_Proclamation.html
“The Lady Doth Protest too Much”
Juicing the Fruits
(OKLAHOMA CITY) I’m sure the sham of appearing at the Capitol and giving the impression this is a legislative procedure is exactly what was intended when GOPer Sally Kern and Krew planned their morality proclamation ceremony on July 2 in Oklahoma City.
If she were interested in promoting only morality and not instead, introducing her personal religious restrictions, why isn’t she using her own church, Olivett Baptist, as her backdrop?
As always with the mentally unbalanced words and actions are morphed into absurd definitions and shapes. Lies to support other lies are always invented, regardless of how holy the intent of the lies is supposed to be.
She speaks of divorce as contributing to national decline. How short her memory is for anything except bible verses.
Kern’s patron saint, Ronald Reagan, was divorced, as is Newt Gingrich and Rumbaugh twice each. Sen. Vitter of LA likes diaper sex with paid escorts and Gov. Sandford of SC abandons his family and state duties to amorize in Argentina. Gov. Palin of AK can’t teach her eldest daughter to say simple words like, “No”.
When you don’t set yourself up on a high soap box in the first place and then mistake it for a psychiatrist’s office you don’t have to fall so inevitably far when you come up short in your own life.
Kern should spend more time looking at the fruit falling close to her family tree ( https://tinyurl.com/krahr9 ) before she tries to juice the private lives of others.
Can someone tell me how a bigot like this gets elected to “serve” our Country!! That is more of a statement on the sad affairs in this country than “debauchery”!
At least one Christian is right thinking. The Holy Bible states: Leviticus – Chapter 18 – verse 22:
God speaking to Moses stated, “Thou shall not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination!â€
Leviticus – Chapter 20 – verse 13:
“If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Leviticus – Chapter 20 – verse 23:
“And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.â€
Pray for the gays!
PRAY FOR BRITANY and her close mindedness. The world is moving forward and human rights will one day be all encompassing for everyone Britany, whether your on the bandwagon or not.
Sean:
Learn good grammar. “Your” should be you’re. The Holy Bible is NOT close mindedness. If you want to move forward with Satan, go ahead. I’ll stick with the Bible and the gays can too if they only do what God states: “Go forth and multiply” Same sex couples can not multiply! It goes against God’s plan when he created the world. God, bless America!!
Britany:
When God said “go forth and multiply” there was a husband, a wife, and two sons – you do the math you naughty incest loving gal!
Anyway, there’s no indication that message is meant for everyone. If you buy the myth there were four people on Earth, so they might’ve needed to breed. There’s no passage that says this was meant for everyone, so stop being a literalist and try being a thinker – well as much a thinker as someone named Britany can be.
Is that all you have Britany? What are you even doing on a gay based online newspaper anyways? This certainly is not Christian ministering that you are doing.
1.) The first thing you “Christians” do is attack people – case in point someone’s grammar – what does that have to do with anything regarding this article? Someone said something to you that rubbed you the wrong way and you had to practice unchristian behavior by not “turning the other cheek.”
2.) I am a Christian and I love God and he loves me. My partner and I have been with each other for nine years and have two children, one child from each of our own sperm donations and our dear friend who supplied the eggs and her body – how is that not multiplying? Nothing you can say or quote can change the fact that we are loving, Christian men who love each other and our children.
3.) The Bible is a book about God — not a book about human sexuality.
The Bible is the story of God’s love for the world and the people of the world. It tells the history of God’s love at work rescuing, renewing, and empowering humankind. It was never intended to be a book about human sexuality.
In fact, the Bible accepts sexual practices that we condemn and condemns sexual practices that we accept. Lots of them! Here are a few examples.
DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21
If it is discovered that a bride is not a virgin, the Bible demands that she be executed by stoning immediately.
DEUTERONOMY 22:22
If a married person has sex with someone else’s husband or wife, the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death.
MARK 10:1-12
Divorce is strictly forbidden in both Testaments, as is remarriage of anyone who has been divorced.
LEVITICUS 18:19
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during a woman’s period. If they disobey, both shall be executed.
MARK 12:18-27
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir.
DEUTERONOMY 25:11-12
If a man gets into a fight with another man and his wife seeks to rescue her husband by grabbing the enemy’s genitals, her hand shall be cut off and no pity shall be shown her.
There are tons of things in the Bible that “straight” people willingly don’t even acknowledge – don’t even get started on the eating of pork, shellfish and all the other biblical do’s and don’ts.
Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. You will see that life is not black & white like so many “Christians” believe it to be. When you or someone you know has a gay child and it is something you can’t hide from, your viewpoint will change.
Thank you Chavis!!! Well Put, and god bless your family!!!
Britany: You live in america sweetie, this isn’t a third world country. Our country was founded on FREEDOM of religion. And if you want to continue to live like its the 1800’s maybe you should move to a convent with other like minded people and stay out of other people’s lives.
Im a gay christian, i believe in god, jesus, and the holy spirit. I believe jesus died on the cross for our sins…
And the next time your at the grocery store and you see a cute guy…dont forget to stab your eye out!!
We are human beings. We have hearts. We love. We care. We have families. We go to school. We go to work. We pay taxes. We Vote. (And we get elected.)
As citizens of america, we all believe different things. That is what makes it America. If you dont like it…go somewhere else. So stop trying to press your religion onto others…its not going to work. We are born the way we are…if we weren’t, then god wouldn’t have made us the way we are. If you still dont believe me…then just keep quite and pray for us!!!
Let’s put aside the notion that just because a majority of the country considers themselves Christian, the rest of us have to follow their rigid beliefs and ideas of “morality” (which Christians definitely have the high ground on by the example of John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, David Vitter, Larry Craig, etc.) and examine one of the more stupid things said here:
“Same sex couples can not multiply! It goes against God’s plan when he created the world.”
Thank you Chavis for pointing out that same-sex couples can indeed multiply, it just takes a little more effort and creativity (which, in my mind, leads to better parents than a lot of those accidental pregnancies straight couples are so fond of). The idea that God doesn’t want gay people to be together because they “can not multiply” is absolutely ludicrous. Absolutely nowhere in the Bible does it say that the ability to propagate is a pre-requisite for marriage. If that were so, then why aren’t the Britanys of this world throwing tantrums about infertile couples getting married? Or straight couples who choose not to have children? I’m curious to know exactly how many children Britany has, whether she has any family members or friends who do not have children, and I’m requesting that she submit videotapes of her doing her Christian best to prevent them from being with the ones they love to prove that she’s not just another undereducated homophobic idiot who trolls gay news sites to pick fights with us peaceful queers.
I am in agreement with Joe’s statement. Joe, you stated very simply what everyone has on their minds.
she IS correct that the current financial meltdown is the result of moral failings, but those failings have nothing to do with the chromosonal makeup of committed couples. it has to do with greed, deception, self-centeredness, showiness, jealousy, etc.. that’s what’s so amazing about the “solutions” imposed that don’t address this basic moral failing as a people under our new national religion of humanism.
We are in the midst of a very serious fiancial crisis and Representative Kern is picking fights over gays and abortion? Voters need to make more responsible choices when it comes to electing leaders. Oklahoma, like the other 49 states, needs to step up to the plate and offer real solutions to this crisis rather than distractions. Sally Kern is not too unlike the kid in the back of the classroom making sexual innuendo to take focus of the lesson being taught. She needs to be dismissed if she won’t make a serious contribution.
Religion is for those too weak to think for themselves, and too afraid of the unknown where there is no “plan”layed out for them to follow.
Britany must be very young. Perhaps as she has some time to acquire some life experiences, she’ll also acquire an understanding that the world doesn’t revolve around her and her prejudices.
If bible-thumpers truly followed Christ, they’d read the New Testament, wherein Jesus taught love not hate. If Britany follows only the Old Testament, I’d like to have an invitation to the human sacrifice of her eldest son. If she doesn’t follow the Old Testament, then what does she follow? It’s certainly not the love found in the New Testament.
As for Oklahoma: Maybe Mrs. Kern attended school in Midwest City (OK). If so, she’s probably more ignorant than a rock. I went to fourth grade at Glenwood Elementary in Midwest City. The education I received was so inferior that when I came back to Texas for the rest of my education, my friends in fourth grade (I was in fifth) were talking about eastern hemisphere geography and were using terminology (such as the word “Bedouin”) which they had to explain to me.
We had a lot of fun in fourth grade with activities such as Talent Show, Show & Tell and painting cocina (sp?) dolls which our teacher had cut out of plywood.
We were in a drafty, leaky old building, formerly a military barracks, and the only restroom was in the main school building – a cold, wet walk of about 40 yards. That’s an unacceptable environment for learning.
I couldn’t wait to get back to Texas.
We have plenty of our own problems here in Texas. We have a governor who was happy to sign the “Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act” in 2007. Very soon our own public school students will be just as miseducated and undereducated as Oklahoma students. With our current State Board of Education, Texas public school children don’t have a chance of receiving a quality education in the coming years.
Mrs. Kern seems to believe that she and she alone has the right to decide what is moral and immoral behavior. Did her God die and leave her in charge?
Now, Britany, make some comment about my spelling, grammar and punctuation. I dare you!
Marsha, Sally Kern didn’t arrive in OK until 1997..her husband the year before. At that time she was teaching in Texas after having moved there from Idaho. Prior to Idaho she was educated in Texas. She was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas and between there and Texas received her primary school education.
Oklahoma did not educate Sally Kern. Texas did.
You may now take her back.
Yeah, we have our share of absolute idiots in this state, too. I can point to eight of the 15 members of the Texas State Board of Education who are trying to get our public school textbooks dumbed down with creationism and intelligent design, not to mention the diminishing of heroic individuals such as Thurgood Marshall and Cesar Chavez, in the social studies curriculum. I’ve been fighting the SBOE for a while now, but they’ve succeeded in retaining control over our public schools to the detriment of our public school students. The Texas Republican governor, Rick Perry, just appointed a new SBOE chair, one of the eight ideologues. The Legislature denied confirmation to Perry’s previous pick, a dentist, Dr. McLeroy. Since Perry waited until after the end of the legislative session last month to appoint the new chair, she won’t have to undergo confirmation hearings until 2011, the next time the Texas Legislature meets.
No, Oklahoma can keep Sally Kern. We already have more morons than we need here in Texas.
“Kern has been stopped twice entering the state capitol with a loaded semiautomatic firearm.”…
Just more proof that Oklahoma is *not* OK… WOW. I cannot believe people continue to elect and support people like this to influence their government.
Poor Britany……may all your children be gay. You are a pathetic piece of humanity. You and all your right-wing Bible-beaters need to grow up and quit practicing “selective morality.” Christmas? Easter? All of your holidays have PAGAN origins.
Quite pounding your fist on that obviously-rewritten-for-the-sake-of-a-few-and-control-of-the-many book of tale and get your but to a library a learn some history so you don’t have to walk around all IGNORANT.
Hosea 4:6
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
See how I twisted that up for my own benefit…..
BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!!!!! YUK ALL OVER YU!!!
and yes….. I see the misspellings in my rant….. chalk it up to being REALLY pissed off!!!
Oh, Jimmy, no…
Misspellings? Looked more like typos to me. Typos don’t count against you.
I notice Britany hasn’t taken me up on my dare to comment on my spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Frankly, it’s tacky to criticize other commenters on their G, S and P. These blogs are about communication, not some idiotic, nose-out-of-joint adherence to an irrelevant pursuit of perfection.
Lordy, I’d much prefer a brilliant point – even if every word were misspelled – to a flawless, nonsensical bunch of crap (such as we hear daily from Sarah Palin). The last thing we need is for commenters to be discouraged from speaking their minds over such silliness.
Dallas Voice, keep up the good work!
I wonder when the white southern Christian fundamentalist Republicans will rise up and create another Civil War. Many are showing their true colors (but dont tell them it is their true “color” they might shot you dead) by the way they are treating the next Supreme Justice. Even the white racist, who was denied a position, by the Republican party, is calling her a racist.
I wish, in all honesty that, all Sally Kern followers, Bush lovers, Rush listeners, (and alike) would go to one place in the USA where they can build a wall around their compound and then we can point them out to Osama Bin Laden…and let him take care of those that helped us get attacked on 9-11 and those that will motivate others to attack us again.
I’ll even help build the wall!
From the same state that suspended a girl from a public high school for 15 days for supposedly putting a hex on her teacher.
When was the last time Oklahoma was taken seriously?
Although it was a surprise that Brad Henry got into office, and even with little fuss towards Jim Roth.
But still gotta say, freedom is allowing the people you didn’t want to invite to the party to speak.
Her comments are laughable at worst and best. And maybe it’s better just to laugh OUT loud than take any of it seriously. advice from Kate Clinton, I think?
With her record brought into view, it’s a significant point to remember she really is of little consequence.
Besides I’d rather the crackpots be addressing the public than those with promises and empty lip-service while continuing to sign in opposing directions.
Honestly, every time she speaks I look just a little more pretty.