Rep. Sally Kern could be getting some interesting company in the Oklahoma State House.

You might recall that in 2008, Kern was caught on tape in an ugly tirade against LGBT people.  We broke the news here on Gay Politics, but it was quickly picked up by blogs, the mainstream media and even Ellen Degeneres, who attempted to call Kern during her show.

Kern said gays and lesbians were a bigger threat than terrorists, that they wanted to indoctrinate 2 year-olds, and that they were like a spreading cancer.  More than a million people watched a YouTube video made from that tape.  The national and even international outrage over her remarks was swift, and fair-minded Oklahomans were embarrassed at what Kern had said.

More than two years later, Kern still occupies her seat in the State House, and she still spews extremist rhetoric about Oklahoma’s LGBT community.  Now a few members of that community are running to join her in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.  This could get interesting.

One of the candidates, Andrew Williams, is a 30 year-old Tulsa native who was recently selected as one of Oklahoma Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for his leadership both in his community and the business sector.  He’s an energy company executive who’s focused on job creation and developing a greener future for his home state.

Williams’ decision to run to represent District 66 in the State House had to be made quickly.  The Democratic incumbent decided at the last minute this summer not to file for re-election, and community leaders in Tulsa almost instantly turned to him to ask him to run.  His first hurdle comes July 27th in the Democratic primary.

Williams joins a number of Oklahomans who’ve decided to be honest about who they are as they seek to serve the public in elected office.  Jim Roth was the first, winning election to the Oklahoma County Commission twice before being appointed by the governor to statewide office.  State Rep. Al McAffrey, who was the first LGBT person elected to the state legislature, is running for reelection this year.  And Tom Kovach, a member of the Norman City Council, is also seeking a seat in the State House.

It’s fair to say Sally Kern didn’t enter Williams’ mind when he decided to run, but his mere presence on the State House floor could have a big impact on her colleagues and blunt some of her lies about LGBT Oklahomans.  For more information about Williams’ campaign, go here.  Follow his Twitter feed here.

Oklahoma state senators yesterday voted overwhelmingly to block federal law enforcement officials from investigating hate crimes in the state. The move is a reaction to enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed by Congress last year, which added sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to existing federal hate crimes statutes.

“We just don’t want the pendulum to swing too far the other way,” said Sen. Steve Russell (R-Oklahoma City), according to the Oklahoman. ”This protects people to do or say whatever they want, as long as it complies with local ordinances.”

But Sen. John Sparks (D-Norman) said the measure, which must be approved now by the State House, could put local district attorneys in a bind.  ”They could be guilty of obstruction of justice if the federal government requests evidence and they don’t turn it over. This language has all sorts of ramifications,” Sparks told the Oklahoman.

Via Dallas Voice/Istant Tea

Oklahoma State Sen. Steve Russell plans to introduce a bill in the spring session that would exempt Oklahoma from adhering to the recently passed Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.  Russell argues that the bill oversteps the bounds of the federal government and infringes upon free speech, according to The Oklahoma Daily:

“The federal government should not be creating a special class of people, and that is just what they did when they passed and signed this bill,” Russell said. “All crimes against another person have some level of hate in them, and people can be assured that our laws that protect people against crimes such as murder are sufficient to protect everyone.”

Russell said because the government has decided to intervene on issues of morality, he is worried that religious leaders who speak out against any lifestyle could be imprisoned for their speech.

“The law is very vague to begin with,” Russell said. “Sexual orientation is a very vague word that could be extended to extremes like necrophilia.”

Russell also said that while he initially considered a way to pass his bill while retaining the $5 million endowed by the government to enforce it, he eventually decided that doing so would “compromise our values.”

A group of 20 Republican lawmakers in the Oklahoma House of Representatives tried to block gay pastor Scott Jones’ prayer from becoming part of the official House record.

The move came after openly gay Oklahoma state Rep. Al McAffrey (right) asked to make the prayer part of the record, including a mention of the pastor’s “loving partner and fiance, Michael.”

The House finally voted 64-20 to keep the prayer.

The Dallas Voice reports:

Jones reportedly had been invited to give the prayer by openly gay Oklahoma State Rep. Al McAffrey. At the close of the day’s business, McAffrey made a motion to have Jones’ remarks recorded in the House Journal. Because a Republican legislator objected to the motion, a roll call vote was taken, and 20 representatives, including the infamous Sally Kern, voted against recording the prayer. Sixty-seven legislators voted in favor of the motion, and another 17 were reported absent.

“It was an interesting moment, and rather chaotic,”” Jones wrote on MyQuest. “One legislator commented, ‘We always enter the remarks.’ Others wanted to read what I had said, and came over to where I was and read my hard copy and kept saying, ‘What are they objecting to?’ Others came over to apologize. One legislator made a point of order to remind colleagues that if they were in the room, they had to vote, at which some of them fled … “

As of this post, Jim Roth was leading opponent Dana Murphy 56.23 percent to 43.77 percent with 81 of 2,231 precincts reporting. Stay tuned to GayPolitics.com for the latest.

Jim Roth exudes a low-key charm that can be best described as “Oklahoman.”

After spending twenty minutes talking to Jim, you might trust him enough to have him babysit your kids, handle your investment portfolio or set you up on a blind date.

Already known as Oklahoma’s first openly gay elected official (he previously served as a commissioner in Oklahoma County), Roth is the middle of campaigning for a statewide office: Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner. Not necessarily the sexiest title, but it’s an important job. Corporation Commissioners help regulate public utilities, oil and gas drilling, environmental protection as well as the safety aspects of motor carrier, rail and pipeline transportation. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry appointed Roth to the office in 2007 when the sitting commissioner resigned, making this the first time Roth has run for the office he currently occupies.

In conversation, you not only get the feeling that Roth is genuine — above all, you get the sense a sense that he is superlatively competent. In fact, an editorial for the Daily Oklahoman praised his work ethic and extensive preparation for the job. Notably, the article made no mention of Roth’s sexual orientation.

“I think any time you get judged on the weight of your record of service is the right test,” Roth said. “It’s wonderfully encouraging to me that in the six years I’ve had a chance to serve the public, who I am as an individual has become less important. The service that I’m trying to provide for the millions of other individuals has become the focus.”

He adds that LGBT political candidates often have to work much harder to win elections than their opponents.

“Gay or lesbian candidates or office holders should hold themselves to a higher standard because I think America at this point is still holding them to a higher standard,” he said. “It’s logical to expect that you have to read twice as fast, be twice as good, run twice as hard to honor the opportunity to serve in this democracy.”

Read the rest of Roth’s interview with GayPolitics.com below.

GayPolitics.com: What would you say is the biggest misconception about your state and the people in it?

Jim Roth: For those of us who call Oklahoma home, we know that there is a wonderful froth of kind, progressive-minded people. It’s a state with a very populist origin. It’s only a hundred years old now, but we have been defined externally by a few office holders typically at the federal level that I don’t think always represent the whole of Oklahoma. They seem more right wing and louder than I think Oklahomans are by nature.

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