Kern, as most Oklahomans know by now, is the legislator who made a series of over-the-top remarks about the gay threat to America. In Kern's view, homosexuals are targeting America's kids—as young as 2 years old. (Somebody's been spending way too much time with the Eagle Forum crowd!)
More ominously, Kern argued that gays represent a threat greater than terrorism and destroying the social fabric of America. Heavens!
As we have tried to make clear in previous Kern commentaries, we have no problem with Kern's right to speak her mind or her right to oppose what she and her allies call "the homosexual agenda."
But we take strong exception to the notion that she speaks for all Oklahomans on gay issues or that she has the only acceptable view of homosexuality. She doesn't.
Unlike Rep. Kern, we believe in a free and open society, a society where people can be wrong or even sin (gasp!) if they so desire.
Moreover, and despite Rep. Kern's notions to the contrary, neither the United States nor Oklahoma has an official state religion, which means that her views on homosexuality are not official state doctrine.
In contrast to Rep. Kern, we submit that homosexuals are (and deserve to be) treated as ordinary citizens, just like every other American.
In contrast to Rep. Kern, we believe that gay folks have a right to live their lives without harassment or condemnation.
Unlike Rep. Kern, we believe in civil liberties for all citizens, not simply those we approve of.
2 comments:
...we believe that gay folks have a right to live their lives without harassment or condemnation.
Say what? Didn't you just condemn Mrs. Kern?
Dan, according to the Wiktionary, the verb "condemn" has several possible meanings:
1. To confer some sort of eternal divine punishment upon.
2. To mark (a building, for example) for destruction.
3. To scold sharply.
AT did seem to give Rep. Kern a bit of a scolding, but the more drastic meanings obviously do not apply to his or her speech.
But arguably, Ms. Kern is applying the more biblical "condemn" to gays, as her objections to them are supposedly biblical in nature.
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