After President Obama voiced support for gay marriage, the Oklahoma Senate wasted little time passing what Tim Matheson in Animal House would have termed “a really futile and stupid gesture.” A resolution authored by Sen. Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, and overwhelmingly passed by the Senate on May 14 reaffirmed that the Senate supports marriage being between a man and a woman. And if there’s one thing politicians love — at least when standing beside their spouses — it’s the sanctity of “traditional marriage.”
Sen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, was among four senators questioning the need for the resolution. Chicken-Fried News doesn’t know why Wilson was quizzical. Does the reason for Jolley’s resolution have anything to do with him being challenged in the GOP primary by an avowed gay-bashing minister, Rev. Paul Blair?
At any rate, Wilson decided to add a little kerosene to the silliness fire, proposing a resolution of his own affirming support for the constitutional definition of marriage.
In so doing, Wilson took a page from the playbook of fellow Sen. Constance Johnson, who sought to undermine an anti-abortion personhood bill earlier this session by pushing an amendment to make masturbation illegal (calm down, gang — that amendment, like the personhood legislation, is deader than ejaculate on Kleenex).
Have Senate Democrats caught the comedy bug? After all, Johnson’s legislative prank attracted a segment on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Let’s see if any lawmakers manage to shoehorn in a “what’s the deal with airplane food?” reference in an 11th-hour appropriations bill.
