As we all sadly know, Oklahoma has a long, proud, and deeply embarrassing tradition of being a national leader in the LGBTQ+-phobia movement.
From Anita Bryant’s orange juice-fueled crusades, to Sally Kern’s “gays are worse than terrorists” speech, to anti-Star Wars lawmakers trying to ban books about grumpy unicorns from libraries, the Sooner State has always gone out of its way to be on the wrong side of history when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights.
We were reminded of this opposite-of-proud tradition this week when a pair of Oklahoma lawmakers from the Oklahoma Freedom Caucus filed a resolution urging the U.S. Supreme Court to claw back freedoms and overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Here are details via The Oklahoman:
A far-right Oklahoma state senator has filed a resolution calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a landmark 2015 decision that legalized gay marriage throughout the nation.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 8, sponsored by Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, and Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, says the Oklahoma Legislature wants the court “to overturn its unconstitutional holding in Obergefell v. Hodges and recognize that marriage is between one man and one woman, or to return full authority over marriage policy to the several states.”...
The resolution twice quotes conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and calls the Obergefell decision “illegitimate because two of the Justices in the majority ruling, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, had previously officiated same-sex weddings.”
If judges who officiated gay weddings shouldn’t have their votes count because they’re “biased,” does that mean we need to toss out the votes from judges who officiated straight weddings, too? Is that how this twisted game of moronic legal logic works?
Although Deevers and Olsen were the quacks who authored the resolution, it had a long list of co-authors who also wanted to grandstand and pander on the issue.
One of them is Gabe Woolley – he’s a freshman lawmaker from Broken Arrow and, I believe, the first State Rep to openly serve as a former member of the LGBTQ+ community:
Yep, that’s right. He’s a former member of the LGBTQ+ community. I wonder how that works? Did you have to turn in your YMCA membership badge or mail back your Barbra Streisand CD collection? Haha! Gay stereotype jokes! I’m sure the Freedom Caucus members will get a kick out of that!
Over the past couple of years, Gabe has made being a former gay man a big part of his sexual identity. On his podcast, The Oklahoma Lion, he openly discussed his struggles with “same sex attraction.”
For what it’s worth, I believe people should be able to live openly as they are, and free from hate, judgment, and discrimination.
If you love another person – or in the case of Ryan’s Chief of Staff, multiple people – and want to marry them, and they want to marry you, go for it. It doesn’t matter if you're straight, gay, or – thanks to growing up in a repressive evangelical culture that demonized homosexuals and their lifestyle – a former member of the gay community who once cruised gay dating sites. You do you. It’s a free country.
That being said, I do think it’s okay to call you a hypocrite when you attach your name to a resolution that calls to strip away the rights of those in the community you used to belong to. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, or the Two Spirit thing that Native Americans talk about – that just makes you an asshole.
Seriously, what’s next? Woolley sponsoring a resolution to ban men from wearing Daisy Duke jean shorts in public?
Mandals, Daisy Dukes, and man buns. I don’t know about you, but we need to get Woolley a spot on Queer Eye for the Formerly Gay Guy pronto!
Although it’s sad to see Oklahoma lawmakers continue with their homophobic ways, the good news is that the resolution appears to be largely symbolic. It has no legal merit and is basically a way for lawmakers – both straight and not-so-straight – to share their beliefs, pander to supporters, and – once again – strengthen Oklahoma’s deeply embarrassing stronghold in the LGBTQ+-phobia movement.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
