An Oklahoma
lawmaker who gained national notoriety with an antigay rant
was stopped from entering the state capitol Wednesday when
she was found to have a loaded handgun in her purse,
the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. Patrol spokeswoman
Chris West said Republican representative Sally Kern
was not charged because there did not appear to be any
''malicious intent'' behind her actions.
An Oklahoma
lawmaker who gained national notoriety with an antigay rant
was stopped from entering the state capitol Wednesday when
she was found to have a loaded handgun in her purse,
the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.
Patrol
spokeswoman Chris West said Republican representative Sally
Kern was not charged because there did not appear to
be any ''malicious intent'' behind her actions.
West said
officers are allowed to ''use their brains'' when
determining if an arrest should be made in such
instances.
West also
confirmed a second incident in which Kern made it into the
building with a gun in June.
Kern complained
earlier this year of receiving death threats after an
audio clip was posted on YouTube in which she calls
homosexuality a bigger threat to the U.S. than
terrorism.
Guns and knives
are prohibited in the capitol, and those who enter must
pass through an airport-style security checkpoint, including
a metal detector and an X-ray machine. It is a
misdemeanor to bring a weapon inside.
Kern told the
Associated Press Wednesday that both incidents were simple
mistakes.
The first time,
the weapon got through the security checkpoint, she said.
''I got all the
way up to my office before I realized I had it, so I
reported it,'' she said.
On Wednesday, she
said she forgot to take the .380 caliber semiautomatic
handgun out of her purse after she stopped to talk to a
colleague.
''It was an
honest mistake from being out of my routine, you know,'' she
said.
Kern said she had
a permit for the gun and had carried it long before the
YouTube controversy. (Ron Jenkins, AP)
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1