Credit: Brad Gregg And on a completely unrelated note, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe has introduced a bill, the “Military Religious Freedom Act,” that would effectively ban any marriages or “marriage-like ceremonies” on military bases that were not between one man and one woman. Currently, military chaplains are allowed to perform ceremonies that are in accordance […]
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Don’t say Chick-fil-A wasn’t personal
While I hadn’t had time to consider it earlier in the day, I suddenly realized I felt the same way. In the days following, I heard from dozens of other LGBT Oklahomans who had similar feelings. I shared this with a straight friend who simply couldn’t understand these feelings. “Why?” she asked. “This is just […]
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Kern-fil-A
We’re talking about breasts of chicken, of course. From the because-the-Chick-fil-A-controversy-wasn’t-stupid-enough-already file, Kern issued a statement July 27 asking Oklahomans (even the gay ones, we guess?) to eat at the restaurant chain during Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day on Wednesday. Just a week prior, Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy responded that his company was “guilty as charged” in […]
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Quitting with pride
Vicki Monks and Matt Harney check out smoking ads that have targeted the LGBT community. Credit: Mark Hancock What’s not as well-known is that within the LGBT community, smoking rates are considerably higher than among the population as a whole. One study by the American Lung Association even estimates smoking rates in that demographic might […]
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Pioneering pride
Another Pride Week has passed. Never before have we had more of a reason to stand with the LGBT citizens of Oklahoma than now. With the breakthrough of a sitting president endorsing and recognizing the rights of gay citizens to marry and hold the same legal rights as heterosexual couples — for the first time […]
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An evolution of pride
OKC gay pride 2010 Maria Atkinson The day before the parade, however, OKC Pride comes downtown for the first time, moving its annual Pride Festival from Memorial Park to the Film Exchange District for a full day of live music, exhibitions, art and food. The move downtown is not without significance for Oklahoma City and […]
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Safe room
A closed-door meeting about gender-neutral housing with University of Oklahoma President David Boren went well, said Luxner, president of OU’s LGBT and Friends group. The March 26 discussion also included group leaders and OU’s Students for a Democratic Society, along with other university personnel. “[Boren] has indicated his willingness to continue to discuss the matter […]
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Tour de force
Soulforce, an activist group started by Mel White, former ghost writer for Jerry Falwell, started Equality Ride in 2006. The riders are people of faith, many from backgrounds that also teach that homosexuality is a sin. Jason Conner, an Equality Ride codirector who grew up Mormon, said Bethany’s SNU was chosen because of its “biblical […]
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Bad move, ‘Bad move’
Check my logic here: If a person opposes preventing X from happening, that person is not opposed to X happening. Because Rev. Kern opposes the ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, it seems as though he is not opposed to people being discriminated against on this basis. Why is codifying nondiscrimination a […]
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Bad move, ‘Bad move’
Check my logic here: If a person opposes preventing X from happening, that person is not opposed to X happening. Because Rev. Kern opposes the ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, it seems as though he is not opposed to people being discriminated against on this basis. Why is codifying nondiscrimination a […]