Nearly 300 people
gathered outside the state capitol in Oklahoma City on
Tuesday to protest antigay comments made by state
representative Sally Kern, but the Oklahoma lawmaker
refused to apologize, according to reports from the
Associated Press.
"I see no reason
to apologize for what God says, that homosexuality is
a sin," Kern told the AP. "I will not apologize. I did not
say anything false. I did not say anything malicious
or hateful. They are trying to vilify me. That is
their tactics."
Gay and lesbian
groups called on Kern to apologize and asked the state
legislature to adopt hate-crimes legislation that would add
protections for LGBT people.
"Hateful speech
leads to hate crimes," said Rob Howard, executive
director of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation of Oklahoma in
Oklahoma City. He and other speakers highlighted the
contradiction of Kern taking an oath to uphold the
state constitution but then condemning a segment of
her own constituents.
Kern declined to
meet with the groups, the AP reported, though she
defended their right to express their point of view. "That's
great they came to the capitol. This is a free
country. They're exercising their First Amendment
right," she said.
Kern noted that
more than 30,000 e-mails had been sent to her, some of
them threatening, and said an activist had attempted to
intimidate her husband, who is a Baptist minister.
"They're sending
out letters and making calls in my district. And they
really want me to come down and talk to them?" Kern said.
"It would be like throwing myself to the lions. That's a
metaphor. When I am wrong, and it is brought to my
attention, I will apologize."
Kern's remarks
attracted national attention after they were recorded and
posted on YouTube by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
earlier this month. (The Advocate)
