"It's OK to Bash Queers in OK"

This might be the most anti-gay political ploy we'll see this year.  Oklahoma may as well start designing new tourism brochures with the phrase "It's OK to Bash Queers in OK" on them.  I'm sure Rep. Sally gay-are-worse-than-terrorists Kern would help pay for the printing costs ...

Elected officials in the Sooner State are bound and determined to undermine the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, so determined that Oklahoma senators have just voted 39-6 to pass a measure which essentially neuters the 2009 federal law.  Under the provisions of SB 1965, reports that are collected during investigations of possible hate crimes against gays will either be destroyed by police or kept hidden away by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.  They will NOT be turned over to federal prosecutors who might wish to pursue a more aggressive investigation after the local authorities fail to do their jobs. 

It happens all the time in rural American.  An LGBT person is viciously assaulted by homophobes, small town cops don't consider the crime important enough to follow up on, and the gay bashers go unpunished.  And this, cowpokes, is how conservative legislators in Oklahoma want the situation to remain.  Julie Nisbee reports for News OK:   A state law enforcement agency would not be required to share investigative files with federal agencies under changes proposed to the state’s hate crime bill.  In an amendment presented to the Senate floor on Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Steve Russell, R-Oklahoma City, gutted a bill that had been filed to create a task force to study the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, and inserted language to make changes to the state's hate crime statutes.  Russell said the bill is meant to prevent the federal law enforcement officials from taking over a case and applying different standards when local law enforcement has already investigated a case... The measure passed 39-6 and now heads to the House for consideration.  Russell said his bill is meant to protect speech of all kinds.  "We just don’t want the pendulum to swing too far the other way," he said. "This protects people to do or say whatever they want, as long as it complies with local ordinances."  Russell said hate crimes should only be prosecuted by local officials and not the federal government. (Bullshit. This new law allows for protections of other minorities.)

From The Equality Network:  The new SB 1965 leaves LGBT Oklahomans no legal recourse if they are victims of hate crimes. Not only does the state hate crimes law exclude sexual orientation or gender identity, but SB 1965 also prevents law enforcement officials from asking for federal assistance in enforcing the LGBT-inclusive federal hate crimes law. The bill does not seek to repeal federal or state hate crimes protections accorded on the basis of race, national origin, religion, or disability. Instead, it intentionally excludes only hate crimes perpetrated on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.  "Senator Russell's bill is truly terrifying in its implications." warns Kathy L. Williams, Ph.D., president of The Equality Network. "This legislation sends the message that violence against LGBT Oklahomans is acceptable. It also sets a chilling precedent that Oklahoma will only enforce certain federal laws and cooperate only with selected federal agencies."

If there ever was a reason to launch a nationwide boycott against a state, this is it.   (Pictured: Senator Steve Russell)

Comments

[Amanda]

This is VERY bad. The only piece of equality legislation to be passed at a federal level and Oklahoma wants to kill it.

[Ames]

In the early 90's after Amendment 2 passed, the movement to boycott Colorado worked beautifully. It scared the living daylights out of business people and they acted quickly. The ski resorts took out full page ads in the NY Times to assure the nation that they didn't discriminate. Local chambers of commerce came out with statements in support of LGBT folks.

It's about damn time that we get our act together and stand together in boycott of these hate states. We need a combined effort to find the large businesses based in those states and use our buying power and other leverage to get them to pay attention. Maybe we need a LGBT organization that just does this. Something very much like the ADL or the NAACP.

[Joel]

It appears that there may be a "legislative mistake" in the wording of this Senate Bill... It actually takes away the protections allowed by federal law from those of a minority and religious groups, not those of alternative "sexual orientation." This seems like poetic justice, since those who wish to take away from the law and not just add to it, are steeped in their religious dogma's of biggotry and intollerance. Here is a link to "right wing watch" http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/targeting-gays-oklahoma-senate-mistakenly-strips-hate-crimes-protections-race-and-religion.

Thanks for your support in getting the word out about Oklahoma's oppressive legislatures.