A proposed bill in the Oklahoma Legislature would ban gay marriages in the state--if it ever reaches the floor for discussion.
Oklahoma Republican leaders are up in arms over a recent Massachusetts court decision to make gay marriages legally binding. Two proposed bills in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate call for a definition of marriage to be added to the state constitution, making marriages between gay couples in other states not legally binding in Oklahoma.
Democratic leaders said they would rather turn the state"s attention to issues like education and health care before pursuing an Oklahoma ban on gay marriages and same-sex civil unions.
Massachusetts legislators asked the state"s highest court for clarification on whether civil unions could serve as an alternative option for gay couples. The court"s 4-3 decision ruled that 'the history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal.' The decision would allow gay couples in Massachusetts to marry by May 17.
Kevin Faulkner, political committee chairman for Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered and Friends, said allowing marriage for homosexuals is a civil rights issue rather than a moral question. Faulkner said the Massachusetts court decision demonstrated judicial activism is sometimes necessary to protect civil rights of minority groups like gays and lesbians.
'The judicial branch ensures minority rights are not trampled by the majority,' Faulkner said.
The bills now before the Oklahoma Legislature seek to ban gay marriage by amending the state constitution to define marriage as strictly between a man and woman. Amendment of the constitution would have to go before a vote of the people.
'Unfortunately the Democratic leadership both in the legislature and in the governor"s office have been silent on this subject or outright hostile,' said Senate Minority Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa.
Williamson is the author of a joint senate resolution that would define marriage as a union between man and woman in the Oklahoma Constitution.
Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson drew criticism from Republican leaders for assigning the bill to the Senate Human Resources Committee, chaired by Sen. Bernest Cain, D-Oklahoma City, who has called anyone who opposes gay marriage a 'bigot.'
'That"s the appropriate assignment for that legislation,' Hobson said. 'Should it have been assigned elsewhere? Maybe agriculture? Aerospace and Technology or Transportation? How about Tourism and Wildlife?'
Rep. Mike O"Neal, R-Enid, said defining marriage in the state constitution would prevent activist judges from making similar decisions in Oklahoma in the future. O"Neal last week sent an e-mail to Oklahoma legislators asking them to sign on as co-authors of a bill that would ban gay marriage in the state.
'If they get gay marriage, what is to stop them from going back to polygamy or allowing bestiality?' said Rep. Bill Graves, R-Oklahoma City.
Graves proposed an initial bill that would prohibit civil unions as well as gay marriage. The other bills address gay marriage only.
'Homosexuals and liberals are trying to intimidate Christians and Republicans and make them feel like bigots,' Graves said. 'People who oppose gay marriage have a right to do that.'
Graves said the issue is a moral question and goes against Christian principles that helped establish the framework for both the state and federal Constitution. He added that gay marriage rights differ from other civil rights issues such as interracial marriage.
'A black man can"t change his color, but homosexuals change their orientation a lot,' Graves said.
Faulkner said gay marriage is only prohibited in certain religions or specific churches while it is allowed in others.
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