It IS 2011? right?
Just recently, Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern told a talk show host that homosexuality is a bigger threat to the United States than terrorism.
Sorry, WHAT?
That's right. Kern claimed that because young people learn that "homosexuality is normal and natural" and because they're "bombarded" with it every day, it is "more dangerous" than terrorist attacks. It's vile.
As if comparing gays and lesbians to terrorists wasn't bad enough, in the same interview, Kern also blamed the AIDS crisis on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community – recycling the outdated, tired charge that gays are responsible for the epidemic, instead of calling for more support of programs to prevent new HIV infections.
Sadly, this story is all too familiar and Kern has been censured for unrelated but equally outlandish remarks before. Kern made anti-LGBT comments like these three years ago that were captured on tape. But in the three years since, we've learned all too well what words alone can do – especially from elected officials.
Worse, Kern couldn't care less about keeping her vile views under wraps this time around. Instead, she's written a book criticizing the efforts of people like you and me to confront right-wing hate like hers. She casts herself as a truth-teller, standing tall in the face of "angry homosexuals" who speak out time and again against her extremism.
We've called out Kern before for her hatred, but public statements that could potentially incite people to violence are completely over the line. In this day and age, we can't let this kind of hatred go unanswered.
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