April 9th, 2008
On March 27, Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern agreed to sit down and meet with members of the Oklahoma City chapter of PFLAG. According to PFLAG’s version of events, the meeting was cordial, although Rep. Kern did not apologize or back down from her earlier remarks in which she said that homosexuality was “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.” But Kern reportedly told the group that she “agreed with” the idea that gays and lesbians should not be fired from their jobs due to their sexual orientation. She also said that she would consider meeting with a group from PFLAG again.
Kern however was offended by being portrayed as a half-decent human being by PFLAG. Immediately following news of the meeting, she launched a vicious attack against the group, saying that they had “taken my statements and have spun them to make it appear that I am backing off my comments that homosexuality is a sin.”
She claimed that PFLAG said she had backed off of her earlier statements (they actually said the opposite), and she claimed that PFLAG said she was in favor of anti-discrimination laws (they said no such thing). And after she told those whoppers about PFLAG’s statement, Kern announced that she would not meet with them again. PFLAG was justifiably furious at Kern’s slap in the face:
PFLAG applauded Kern for agreeing to the sit-down . . . only to be on the receiving end of a mad Sally slap-down. Kern and her supporters went so far as to refer to the three members of the clergy who took part in the meeting as “false prophets,” and attacked the credibility of our Oklahoma PFLAG families. And even though we weighed in with our own fact-check of Sally’s allegations, she continued to insist that she did not say what she said.
PFLAG is now defending their version of events. It turns out that PFLAG had recorded the 40-minute meeting — with Rep. Kern’s consent, no less — and has posted the entire audio online. In it, we learn:
…Kern said not once (at about 15 minutes and 30 seconds in) that she does not believe GLBT people should be fired from their jobs . . . but she said it twice (again at about 33:15), confirming her stance when Rev. Kelly McCallie recaps the meeting near its end. And, when asked by Rev. Newton-Edwards if she would consider attending future PFLAG meetings to hear from other families in her district, Kern says – almost joyfully – “maybe.”
She even says – when asked if she and her husband will join a PFLAG supporter for dinner – “Sure!”
As PFLAG notes, the tape recorder is definitely not her friend. Here’s the audio, in five parts:
Following last week’s rally in support of Rep. Kern, The Oklahoman‘s editor Ed Kelley posted a video editorial blasting Sally Kern and her message:
What if instead of 1,000 people gathered to praise her, 1,000 people – smart, law-abiding people who really care about Oklahoma and its future – came instead to insist that our state can and must send legislators to the capitol who will focus on real issues that affect Oklahoma. In other words, 1,000 voices that said we’ve had 100 years of Sally Kern, and 100 years of that is enough…
What if indeed. Oklahomans deserve better, as do the rest of us.
See also:
Sally Kern Is a Little Confused
Sally Kern’s Economic Fallout
Sally Kern’s Meeting with PFLAG on Tape
Exodus’ Local Ministry Aligns with Sally Kern
Certified Cameronite: Sally Kern
Kern Speaks to College Republicans
Sally Kern: Out of Context? The Complete Transcript
We Be Jammin’
Muslims and Gays United
OK State Rep. Sally Kern’s Son is “Straight and Not Gay”
Sally Kern Exaggerates Death Threats
A Letter to Sally Kern
LaBarbera Award: Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern
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Erica B.
April 9th, 2008
That woman is completely unbalanced.
Kudos to PFLAG for giving her a chance to redeem herself even slightly, but she’s clearly intent on digging that hole as deep as she can… and at this rate, it seems that will be pretty deep.
queerunity
April 9th, 2008
damn gay agenda, they are just so good, they can even fabricate audioclips
donald chabot
April 9th, 2008
Rep. Sally Kern was asked recently on a local TV news program what would she do if she had a gay son. She replied she would love him all the more as he would need it.
Yet, Kern continues to insist that gays are more dangerous than terrorists or Islam.
If there is a mother proclaiming to the world that gays are more dangerous than terrorists and Islam and hypothetically has a gay son, and in a public forum has said if she had a gay son she would love him all the more, she has a severe mental condition and has forfeited any resemblance of respect for her virulent views from any decent respectable person with any molecule of sense in their education.
How can she proclaim a mother’s love for her own son, yet condemn the gay children of other mothers of America?
Why does Sally Kern consider the love for her own children to be more definitive than the love other mothers have for their gay sons, and who don’t call them dangerous to our country?
I’m not interested in the sexual orientation of Rep. Kern’s children, yet Kern is fascinated with the private lives of total strangers who have caused her no harm whatsoever. I am interested in her hypocrisy.
People and organizations such as those that support Rep.Kern are desirous of only one thing and that is to control others in order to stamp out anything resembling “otherness”.
Such a country, if they had their way would no longer be the Democracy Kern claims to be defending, but rather a Theocracy, devoted to the practice of religion, much like the Islamic countries Kern denounces as dangerous.
a. mcewen
April 9th, 2008
I noticed that One News Now didn’t report on the supposed “triumphant” rally of support for Kern.
Is it just me or does it seem that some members of the anti-gay industry doesn’t want to touch the Kern situation?
Timothy Kincaid
April 9th, 2008
a mcewen,
Alas, this is no sign of common sense from AFA.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Headlines/Default.aspx?id=74581
There simply isn’t anything so hateful and vile that anti-gays won’t sign on. Brian Camenker and Amy Contrada of MassResistance were willing to go along with a white supremist as long as he’s making anti-gay (and violent) statements.
jmc
April 9th, 2008
The AFA Report did cover it. This is their archive, and here is the mp3 of the episode. They argue the recording was edited to take her words out of context, but they never got around to addressing specific complaints about her comparison to terrorism or the nonexistent studies of collapsing civilizations. The panel gives Kern high marks all around.
Joel
April 9th, 2008
Is there any transcript of this. TY. If so plz provide link.
a. mcewen
April 9th, 2008
Oh I know they covered the nonsense regarding Kern’s comments. I just found it very mysterious they didn’t cover the rally under the guise of “unyielding and triumphant Kern stands up to the radical gay activists.”
a. mcewen
April 9th, 2008
Whoops, I stand corrected. Sorry about that. I guess that article about bloggers getting overworked is starting to come true in my case.
David
April 9th, 2008
Sadly, it looks like she has quite a bit of support. There was a rally at the capitol in Oklahoma City on April 2nd. The size of the crowd was estimated at “over 1000” by the AP to the more ridiculous “thousands” by the anti-gay conservative “news” site CNSNews.com.
It’s depressing that this woman would rally even a dozen supporters.
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