Pgh City Council Prez Response to Rep. Sally Kern

h/t  Slag Heap
 
Representative Sally Kern

2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Room 332
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
 
Ms. Kern:
 
    Today I listened to your remarks (http://www.victoryfund.org/listening) related  to your views on gay, lesbian, bisexual and  transgendered people (GLBT).  I was thoroughly disgusted by what you had to say and astonished that someone who presumably took an oath of office to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the laws of this nation would espouse hateful, bigoted and un-American views.
 
     I sit here in my office and only wonder who else might be on your “less equal” list.  I also wonder, if we should follow your illogic, what it is we should do about this “threat” to the nation?  Round them up and put them in extermination camps?  How would you have us “cut out this cancer” assuming we do away with our Constitution and Bill of Rights and host of other civil rights we enjoy in this free and democratic nation?   Of course you always have the option to relocating to a country that embraces polices of persecuting those who are “less equal.”   But then AGAIN, you to may run the risk of being persecuted yourself. 
 
    Your remarks, whether you know it are not, provided an incredible display of ignorance and intolerance.  You incite others to cause harm and even death to those who are of the GLBT community.  New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned his office for far less an offense than the ones you committed in your remarks.  I would hope that you too would recognize your offense and do likewise – resign.  
 
    I find no place at the table for a public policy maker who would espouse hate, discrimination and bigotry.  Your remarks amply illustrate why you are unfit for office and the honor of representing the best interests of all law abiding people in your legislative district.    
 
    As the President of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh, I require an apology from you for your senseless, mean spirited attack on one my colleagues and the Council as a whole.  I would think, should you take the time to reflect upon your hateful, bigoted words.  An apology is also in order to the GLBT community, their families and their friends.  Short of a a miracle, I do not expect that you will.  I find persons of your ilk completely blind to your ignorance.     
 
    I any event, I would hope that the fair-minded people of Oklahoma will disavow your position in this matter and take the matter up with your state human relations and ethics commission.  I would also ask that your legislature censure you and all other hate mongers who truly are a threat to peace loving and law-abiding Americans everywhere.
 
Sincerely,  

 
Douglas A. Shields

City of Pittsburgh

President of Council ~ 5th Council District

Room 510 City County Building
414 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

412 255 8965   Fax 412 255 0820

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  • I removed a comment which listed the personal contact information for Sally Kern and her family. If you choose to contact her via her public address, that's fine. But I'm not going to condone harassment, bigot or not, especially when innocent family members are involved.
    Sue Kerr
    Editor, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondent

  • This from the Oklahoman, a newspaper in Oklahoma City, the state capitol of OK,
    No penalty for Kern's remarks against gays
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    Capitol Bureau
    Rep. Sally Kern will not be punished by the House of Representatives for remarks she made away from the state Capitol in which she called homosexuality the biggest threat to America, House Speaker Chris Benge said Tuesday.
    Benge, R-Tulsa, said he has no plans to censure Kern, R-Oklahoma City, for telling a Republican gathering earlier this year that homosexuals are “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.”
    Three organizations have called on Benge to censure Kern or have her apologize for the comments. One possibility would be for a House committee to investigate to determine if punishment was merited.
    “We're not putting a committee together, no,” Benge said.
    The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, is looking into alleged death threats made through e-mail messages and telephone calls sent to Kern.
    The unusually large volume of e-mails sent to Kern and other House members nearly clogged the chamber's e-mail system and server that representatives use to track bills, a spokeswoman said.
    The flood of e-mails is the result of an audio clip of Kern's comments being posted on the Internet site YouTube.
    The House Internet system did not crash, largely because technical staff made the YouTube site inaccessible on the House servers, said Jennifer Mock, Benge's spokeswoman. The YouTube site was chosen because most representatives were trying to listen to Kern's comments and because its streaming audio and video require a lot of computer space, she said. The site still was unavailable Tuesday.
    Three OSBI agents are looking into the possibility that some of the e-mails and telephone calls made to Kern are threatening, agency spokeswoman Jessica Brown said.
    Several criminal analysts are going through thousands of e-mails “that are growing by the moment,” Brown said.
    “Many of them are ‘I hope you die,'” Brown said. “That's not a threat to bodily harm. What is a threat to bodily harm is ‘I'm going to kill you.'”
    Kern said Tuesday night the correspondence has been a strain.
    “I'm not going to live my life in fear,” she said. “The bottom line is I know in my heart I know what I said and it's being taken out of context.”
    Her comments totaled less than three minutes on the YouTube site. Kern said she spoke for at least 30 minutes, mostly on how backers are funding candidates who support gay rights.
    Comments prompt flood of e-mails
    Kern said her office has received more than 11,000 e-mails and countless telephone calls. She received more than 7,000 Monday.
    In addition, more than 2,000 e-mails were sent Monday to her personal account, she said.
    Most are from out of state and are negative in nature, she said.
    Mock said the 101 representatives received more than twice the normal number of e-mails Monday, the first work day after Kern's comments were posted on YouTube.
    Normally, the House system handles about 26,000 e-mails a day when representatives are in session, Mock said. About 56,000 e-mails were logged Monday.
    Benge said Kern “has a right to express her opinion.”
    Asked whether her comments represent the House Republican caucus, Benge said, “Each member has their own opinion, there's no way that I can say whether that reflects the rest of the Republican caucus or not.
    “Each individual member has thoughts about that, and I'm not sure what those would be,” he said.
    Democratic House leader Danny Morgan said members in his caucus are waiting to see what the House Republican leadership does.
    If no public scolding occurs, “I would hope that a discussion would be held with the member,” said Morgan, of Prague.

  • Thank you Sue for Sharing all of this. I really do beleive it was important to show Our City Council President not only supports his council ,but also his city as well. We are very lucky to have a man like Mr Shields.

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