Back in November, the Oklahoma City Council overwhelmingly approved a measure to add sexual orientation to the city’s employment nondiscrimination policy. The ordinance was a common-sense measure that basically ensured LGBT folks could work for the city and be protected from discrimination.
Now, only a couple of months after the city council's decision, the doorkeeper of the Oklahoma wacko movement, Mike Reynolds, has introduced legislation to limits the rights of city employees. He's doing it because obviously the state of Oklahoma knows what's better for municipal city employees than the cities do...and because he's a homophobic asshole.
From the Norman Transcript:
A state representative who has previously pledged to return Oklahoma to traditional Judeo-Christian precepts has authored a bill which would strip rights from Norman and other municipalities if passed.
State Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, introduced House Bill 2245 to limit nondiscrimination ordinances for municipal employees by restricting those protections to only those also provided for state employees under Oklahoma statute. If approved, the act would become effective Nov. 1.
HB 2245 is scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Monday. Calls seeking comment from Rep. Reynolds Friday were not returned.
Go figure. Right when we make some actual social progress in this state, Mike Reynolds wakes up and tries to take us back to the 1800s. Why's he so scared of gay people? This is the second anti-gay bill he's introduced this sessions. The other one would have reinstated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the Oklahoma National Guard. It fortunately didn't make out of committee. Hopefully this one has the same fate.
Anyway, Mike Reynolds is quickly becoming my favorite least-favorite person in the state of Oklahoma. He looks like the type of guy who wears a cheap suit to Wal-Mart and writes a check at Western Sizzlin'. And he's such a hypocrite. He screams about government intrusions on the rights and liberties of people and then turns around and introduces legislation that limits the rights and liberties of people simply because they are different than him.
Seriously, what's wrong with Mike Reynolds? Was he forced to watch lavish show tunes as a child? Did he come down with food poisoning after eating homemade cupcakes? Did he have a bad experience when he went Lake Hefner to go fishing? Maybe he's trying to let people know he's not Jerry Sandusky's brother. Nothing would surprise me.
