Governor Who Could Be Sent 8 Anti-Gay Bills Refuses To Say If She Supports Discrimination

Oklahoma lawmakers are debating eight anti-gay bills, while the governor refuses to take a position on anti-gay discrimination.

Republican Governor Mary Fallin made her position on same-sex marriage crystal clear in October when the Supreme Court refused to review any same-sex marriage cases, effectively mandating marriage equality in the state of Oklahoma, and in other states.

“The will of the people,” Gov. Fallin said, “has now been overridden by unelected federal justices, accountable to no one. That is both undemocratic and a violation of states’ rights. Rather than allowing states to make their own policies that reflect the values and views of their residents, federal judges have inserted themselves into a state issue to pursue their own agendas.”

Now, lawmakers in the Sooner State are about to debate eight anti-gay bills, from notorious anti-gay activist Rep. Sally Kern and others. The bills would encode the right to discriminate against LGBT people into Oklahoma law, would defund same-sex marriage, and would even codify the right of parents to inflict child abuse by forcing LGBT minors into harmful “ex-gay” or “conversion” therapy.

Asked today if she thought a restaurant should be allowed to refuse service to a gay person, Fallin, as Metro Weekly reports, “refused to directly answer whether or not she thought a business could refuse service to gay people on religious grounds.”

“I have a policy of not commenting on legislation that can change a lot of times,” the governor told reporters at an Associated Press annual legislative forum. 

Commenting that her priority is the “budget process” and “things that hold Oklahoma back,” Gov. Fallin added, “I will tell you this. I have gone to restaurants with gay friends.”

The proposed bills, eight in total, would not only make life in Oklahoma nearly impossible for its LGBT citizens, they would in fact “hold Oklahoma back.” States are finding that anti-LGBT policies and laws that support discrimination make companies far less likely to relocate to those states, and make people considering moving into those states far less likely. In every state that has extended marriage to same-sex couples, a dramatic increase in state revenue has been seen as well.

 

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