Coup by Memo exclusive: Sally Kern confirms that it is her voice in hate speech audio recording
March 7, 2008

This story has been going around the Internet for a few days now, but no one has been sure that it is actually Kern’s voice in the recording. It’s a safe guess, since it sounds like her and she has said things like this before. But today, Kern’s congressional office confirmed to Coup by Memo that it is in fact Kern’s voice on the recording.

 Here is a full transcript of Kern’s remarks:

"The homosexual agenda is destroying this nation, ok? It’s just a fact. Not everybody’s lifestyle is equal, just like not all religions are equal. You know, the very fact that I’m talking to you like this here today puts me in jeopardy, ok?

Hear the original audio here:

The original audio has been taken down from YouTube a few times, so here’s another version of the recording:

Contact Kern’s office here: sallykern@okhouse.gov

Sally Kern is well-known for her homophobic behavior and speech, and we have been covering her since 2005. Read more about her antics:

The biggest loser this election cycle: OKC Mayor Mick Cornett
November 2006

It was certainly a lively election season this time around, with Mark Foley, Michael J. Fox, John Kerry, and the rest. All this excitement has understandably diverted our attention to events at the national level, but has left us with only a dull impression of the campaign season that came and went here at home.

Despite this, I think one of the funniest, and most disturbing, moments of the 2006 campaign was thanks to Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett, who was one of the five candidates in the Republican primary for Oklahoma's fifth Congressional seat. This is the seat that Ernest Istook gave up to run against Brad Henry for governor. Cornett lost to Mary Fallin in the primary, who went on to win the seat in the general election.

So here's the funny/disturbing part: Our mayor purchased a radio ad before the primary, saying that he was responsible for the initiative last year to restrict access in public libraries to children's books that deal with any sort of sexuality, violence, reproduction, etc. Let's just say if the book concerns something we want kids to be confused about, it's banned from the children’s section.

But the main thing this initiative was concerned with was books with homosexual protagonists, for example, the books Heather Has Two Mommies and King and King. These books aren’t sexual in nature; they simply have homosexual characters. These are the books Cornett was so excited about in his radio ad. A spokesman in the ad says about Cornett, "Last year, he took on the liberals and made sure that our libraries would not allow children to have access to books that promote the gay agenda."

Now, there are problems with this sentence alone. First, "gay agenda" is just a ridiculous thing to say, as if there is a dark, smoke-filled conference room somewhere, where homosexuals work out their next plan to take over the world by writing children's books.

Second, Cornett says he took on the "liberals," but is his position so "conservative" in contrast? Restricting free speech and the free market of ideas, discrimination, coercing the library system into complying by threatening to cut its funding, etc., are not conservative or liberal ideals, but those of a fascist.

It didn't stop there, though. The other primary candidates weren't going to let all this gay-bashing go by without getting in on the action, so Mary Fallin led them all in devising a joint press release in protest of Cornett’s ad. Fallin and the other candidates (Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode; State Rep. Kevin Calvey; and State Rep. Fred Morgan) weren’t criticizing Cornett based on the silliness that I just pointed out, as you may have guessed, but instead pointed out that Cornett’s ad was untruthful in other ways: the biggest thing Cornett left out was the fact that he didn’t lead the effort at all.

Cornett didn't lead the initiative, State Rep. Sally Kern (R-Bethany) did. Remember Kern? She’s the lady who described homosexuality as a “cancer” and threatened to cut part of the Metropolitan Library System’s budget if it didn’t ban the books from the children’s section. Cornett wishes he could hate gays as much as Kern does. The press release even includes a quote from Kern about Cornett’s ad. "I had a conversation with Mick Cornett last year about the inappropriate material available to children in our libraries. He did not want to get involved in the issue. Mick could have come to the library board meetings. He could have voted. He could have taken a stand. But he didn't."

There you have it. Cornett supports a ridiculous and hateful initiative, at least in retrospect, and supports it so much he’s willing to lie to the public, if that’s what it takes to convince them that he led it. Fallin also supports the initiative, but is at least in touch with reality enough to know the history of it and the extent to which all of the important players have been involved. The important part to remember is that they both support the initiative, fighting back the “liberals” and their “gay agenda,” restricting free speech, confusing kids, and bringing hateful interpretations of their religion into politics. Fellow Oklahoma Cityans: aren’t you proud of our mayor and our new representative in congress?

To see our leaders wrangling about this issue is very funny at some level, but the humor is quickly overshadowed by the hurtful and embarrassing elements. For a homosexual, or any minority, to hear elected officials bickering over who loves discrimination the most has to be extremely hurtful and discouraging.

And the rest of us have to just sit back and wonder how our leaders, especially Mayor Cornett and Congresswoman-elect Fallin, can be so stupid. Oklahoma now has a representative in the U.S. House who thinks discrimination is acceptable (one more, that is), and we have a mayor who at least says he does. Hopefully, the rest of the country wasn’t paying attention.

Library Commission votes to restrict access to “sensitive and controversial” children’s books
August 2005

 Oklahoma’s Metropolitan Library Commission has voted 10 to 7 to move children’s books with “sensitive and controversial” subjects to what will be known as “parental collections” in children’s sections of libraries. Books to be moved to the new section will mainly be ones with homosexual protagonists, along with those involving death, human sexuality, abuse and bullying. An official list of titles will be made by a new subcommittee that is yet to be formed. 

The Commission’s decision was contrary to the findings of a report by library staff, which concluded that the criteria for determining which books are sensitive and controversial are subjective by their nature, and that any recommendation will inevitably offend someone in the community, as has been demonstrated in the ongoing controversy surrounding the matter. The report states that these “differences are the very reasons why library policies stress ‘that parents must make those determinations for their own children.’ The 19 members of this Commission probably do not agree on the definitions, and the staff would also have varying conclusions.”

 “The [Metropolitan Library Service] staff has deep concern for the protection and safety of the children we serve. We believe that the best way for the public library to do this is to encourage parents to visit the library with their children to oversee their use of its facilities and materials, rather than to institute policies that imply that this parental supervision is not necessary.”

 State Rep. Sally Kern (R-Bethany) led the effort to restrict the books, authoring House Resolution 1039 earlier this year. The resolution strongly urged the Library Commission to move the books to adult sections of libraries. House members threatened not to provide all of the needed funding for libraries if the Library Commission failed to comply with the resolution.

 Creating a new sub-section in the children’s section was not Kern and others had in  mind, but Kern said it’s a good start. “I applaud the Library Commission for taking some action on this issue. They’ve taken a step in the reight direction. And even though I would have like a stronger measure, we’ll start with what they came up with.”

 Kern was thankful to those on the committee who voted for the motion, but had criticism for the 7 who voted against it. “I want to thank the metro area mayors who appoint the commissioners for their support in this effort, and I appreciate the efforts of those who voted for the new policy. They took a stand to protect children and uphold Oklahoma values. However, those seven board members who voted against the proposal obviously do not understand the communities they live in or respect the values of the majority of the people they represent.”

 Kern is currently working on forming a non-profit organization for “library accountability” that will monitor metro libraries.

Kern Invokes Higher Power to Protect Kids from Alternative Views
August 2005

 The Metropolitan Library Commission is holding yet another meeting to discuss a controversial proposed change to its shelving policy. Oklahoma’s House of Representatives passed House Resolution 1039 this year, strongly urging the Library Commission to move homosexually-themed children’s books to the adult sections of metro libraries.

 The meeting will be held August 25 at 3:30 p.m., at the Belle Isle Library, 5501 N. Villa. The Library Commission has been administering a comprehensive study of its shelving policy and procedures and is expected to give a report of its findings. Several speakers are also scheduled for the meeting. They will begin at 3:00.

 Members of the House initially threatened not to give the Library System all of its requested funding this legislative session, is the Library Commission did not change its shelving policy. The House ultimately gave them full funding, but has taken the same stance looking toward next legislative session.

 Specific titles targeted for the adult section are Heather Has Two Mommies, The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans, and King and King.

 Representative Sally Kern (R-Bethany), the author of the resolution and vice chair of the subcommittee handling the issue, prays that “God’s will be done” in a letter to her supporters. “We, the Christian community, have set idly by for too long and let this perversion get out of hand. The homosexuals are wanting us to accept their behavior as normal and natural. It is not. It is sin and unless Believers stand up and be heard it will continue to spread like a cancer and destroy our society. I believe that with all my heart. I am not a particularly valiant person, but God has put me in the position of State Representative for such a time as this.”

 Glen Bud Smithson (D-Sallisaw) is one of only three representatives to vote against the resolution. Smithson says libraries in his district simply do not have room for separate sections. “We have very good library boards and I just kind of hate to take that power away from our local libraries to choose the books that they display. They really don’t have the room or the money to separate them,” he said. “Plus, I don’t see how blinding a child from some reading material is educational,” Smithson said. “I don’t really see that hiding a child from all the evils in the world is protecting a child from all the evils in the world. At some point in their lives, they do have to start learning about a few of these things.”

 Darrell Gilbert (D-Tulsa) is another rep. who voted against the resolution. Gilbert, who describes the resolution as “political fodder,” asks “Where’s the stopping point on this? If this is a book that you want to have in, quote, an adult-only access part of the library—which there aren’t any such things—you’re going to have to take every anatomy book and put it in there, too, because it has nude bodies in it, pictures of body parts. Where does it stop?”

Threatening Knowledge: Conservatives and Progressives Debate Library Shelving Policy
April 2005

 Books about socially and politically unpopular topics may soon be banned from the children’s section of Oklahoma public libraries is one group is successful.

At a March meeting of the Metropolitan Library Commission, several visitors received speaking privileges and requested a change in the library’s shelving policy. Specifically, they asked that children’s books concerning homosexuality be moved to the adult section of the library.

At a second meeting of the Commission, held Thursday, April 21 at Ellison Library, NE 23^rd and M.L. King Ave., the petitioners led by several OK State representatives, continued their charge.

They claim Oklahoma’s conservative majority should define community morals, that the majority has defined homosexuality as immoral, and that giving children access to “inappropriate age-related sexual” materials impedes parents’ abilities to raise their children “as they see fit.”

Sally Kern, State Rep. from District 84, said homosexuals don’t have the right to impose this lifestyle on children.

David Dunn said “ton not restrict [these books] is equal to child abuse.” Furthermore, they argue, children lack the capacity to deal with such a “delicate issue.”

But of the 15 speakers at the April 21 meeting, almost half held the opposite opinion. Many argued that if parents don’t want their children to read a book, the parents can refuse to check it out. Jasmine Majid, heterosexual mother of twins, said she tries to teach her children moral principles like nonviolence and tolerance, and that segregating the books would impede their moral education. She also worried about the precedent being set.

Teacher Joseph Quigley said that library segregation equates homosexuality with pornography, as “adult” material, and therefore can damage children’s sense of self.

Michael Camfield of the OKC ACLU noted other currently-shelved children’s books could offend people. He gave a list of titles, including The Truth About Poop. Other books cover slavery, racism, divorce, single-parenthood, socialism, evolution, environmentalism and feminism.

Gale Hough said “if you don’t think your five-year-old is aware of [homosexuality], you’re wrong. Homosexuality is a fact of life. Taking these books off the shelves is not going to change that.” Several speakers argued parents can restrict their children’s reading, and therefore a change in policy is not necessary.

In one of the books in question, King and King, the royal male protagonist realizes he is not attracted to female suitors, but rather to another prince. They marry, and the book ends with a kiss. The major difference between this book and typical children’s fairytales is that the prince is gay—the relationship is no more “sexual” than that in The Princess and the Pea.

A Public Policy Committee of the Library Commission will meet to discuss shelving policy on Thursday, May 5, at 3:00, on the fourth floor of the Norick Downtown Library, 300 Park Ave.