Badpuppy Gay Today |
Friday, 10 April 1998 |
People For the American Way President Carole Shields, a native Sooner, today sharply condemned an anti-gay measure adopted unanimously last week by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The measure would bar school districts in Oklahoma from hiring "known homosexual[s] or lesbian[s]" and would extend to contractors of school districts. The measure was adopted last week by the House as an amendment to a bill barring the employment of sex criminals. The measure is headed for conference committee. Following is the complete text of Ms. Shields's remarks: "This bill is a disgrace, the bottom of the barrel, the lowest of the low. It's the sort of thing you might expect from 1930s Germany, but not in the United States in the 1990s. The sole effect of this legislation, were it to pass, would be to mandate prejudice and discrimination against part of the community. I hope with all my heart that the legislature will ultimately reject this bill. "This proposal reveals the dark and ugly heart of the anti-gay movement. For some time now, anti-gay leaders have maintained that they don't hate gays and lesbians, they just don't want to afford them 'special rights.' This bill gives the lie to that claim. Holding a job is not a 'special right,' it's an American right. And this bill violates it. "Not only is this bill unconscionable, it is also unconstitutional. Mark my words, this bill is a lawsuit waiting to happen." The measure was adopted last week as an amendment to Senate Bill 1394. The bill had cleared the Senate and moved over to the House. The fate of the provision will be determined in a House-Senate conference committee. Shields also sent a letter to the leadership of the Oklahoma legislature condemning the bill. A copy of the letter is attached. Carole Shields was born and raised in Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma Baptist University. Her father, Grady Cothen, is a Baptist minister, who pastored for many years at Olivet Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. People For the American Way Foundation is a 300,000-member non-profit organization dedicated to defending civil rights; promoting the democratic values of religious freedom and respect for diversity; and developing a culture of opportunity and tolerance of individual difference. ADDRESS: People For the American Way Foundation |
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