While Anti-LGBT Bills Progress Across Nation, Oklahoma’s “Slate of Hate” is Defeated

Yesterday, the LGBT community celebrated after the last of the anti-LGBT bills in the Oklahoma legislature this session were defeated.  In this year’s legislative session, an unprecedented 27 anti-LGBT bills were before the Oklahoma legislature, which were ultimately coined the “slate of hate.”

HRC was on the ground working with Freedom Oklahoma and several local and national partners, including the ACLU of Oklahoma, Oklahomans for Equality, The Family Equality Council and The Equality Federation to defeat the last two remaining bills. , The two bills died a procedural death on a crossover late last night.

“We have seen a truly unprecedented level of community advocacy this legislative session, and fair-minded legislators – both Republicans and Democrats – have listened,” said Troy Stevenson, Executive Director at Freedom Oklahoma, after the gavel fell last night.

For the second year in a row a small handful of anti-LGBT lawmakers proposed a record number of bills aimed at hurting the LGBT community in Oklahoma. Luckily  for the second year in a row, all of those bills have been defeated.

“There will be no anti-LGBTQ laws passed in Oklahoma this year.” said Stevenson, “It is our greatest hope that going forward we will be fighting for positive change, rather than fighting back against discrimination. But no matter what, we will keep fighting until every Oklahoman is equal under the law, and in every walk of life.”

This “slate of hate” was part of nearly 200 anti-LGBT bills that were introduced across 32 states this year. Over 100 bills are still active, representing an onslaught of anti-LGBT bills being pushed this year by anti-equality activists around the country.

Ryan Rowe, HRC Associate Regional Field Director, was on the ground for the past few weeks helping to coordinate HRC’s resources, field support and coordination with national and local partners. If you’d like to learn more about the remaining work around the country to defeat the anti-LGBT bills that are left, or want to get involved locally with the positive, proactive work that remains in Oklahoma, contact [email protected]. 

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Courageous SCOTUS Marriage Equality Plaintiff Pens Op-ed Urging Acceptance in Catholic Church

In a powerful op-ed in Kentucky’s The Courier Journal, courageous Supreme Court marriage equality plaintiff Greg Bourke urged the Catholic Church to extend equality and acceptance to the LGBT community as part of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

“There could be no better time than this Extraordinary Jubilee Year — only the third in Catholic history — for Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz to join in a show of mercy and compassion for LGBT Kentuckians, who continue to be marginalized and face legal discrimination in our commonwealth,” he wrote. “Currently, only eight Kentucky cities protect LGBT people from discrimination on the job and in housing. Archbishop Kurtz’s support could help our state become the first in the South to update its Civil Rights Act to include LGBT people.”

Bourke and his husband, Michael De Leon, are two of the many remarkable marriage equality plaintiffs whose fight for equality and justice led to the Supreme Court’s historic ruling last June.

“Unfortunately, my husband and I are best known for the discrimination we have faced for being openly gay — both in our church and in Kentucky. We are one of the many LGBT couples who were denied marriage rights,” he continued. “We are also both lifelong Catholics and have given generously of our time, talent and treasures to the church. For more than two decades, we have been involved in many church ministries.”

While the Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the world, the actual experience of LGBT parishioners can vary widely across dioceses and parishes. Sadly, just like Bourke and his family, many Catholics are rejected from their churches simply because of who they are or whom they love.

“Time and again, we have been made to feel shame and exclusion by the very church that teaches love, compassion, and mercy—our church,” he concluded. “It is a travesty of God’s true love for LGBT people and there is no better time for it to cease than this Jubilee Year of Mercy.”

To learn more about HRC’s Catholic initiatives, visit hrc.org/Catholic. HRC Foundation’s guide “Coming Home: To Catholicism and to Self”  is aimed at LGBT American Catholics who hope to lead their faith communities toward a more welcoming stance, and those seeking a path back to their beloved tradition.

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