Deb’s House Concerts

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Today, PFLAG of Oklahoma will hold a rally at the state capitol in Oklahoma City and Oklahomans for Equality will hold a solidarity vigil in Tulsa.

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma Families to Rally at State Capitol and Call for Meeting with Representative Sally Kern

For Immediate Release
March 14, 2008

Contacts: Rev. Loyce Newton-Edwards (405) 642-0124 / loycee@sbcglobal.net
Steve Ralls (202) 467-8180, ext. 214 / sralls@pflag.org

Oklahoma Families to Rally at State Capitol
and Call for Meeting with Representative Sally Kern
Tuesday Rally Follows Anti-Gay Remarks from Kern

What: Families, allies and loved ones of GLBT citizens from Oklahoma will gather at the State Capitol on Tuesday in response to Representative Sally Kern’s recent statements calling the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism” and that GLBT people are “just destroying this nation.” Voters from across the state, including members of the Oklahoma City chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), will request to meet with Kern about her remarks. The public is encouraged to join the Oklahoma chapters of PFLAG and support calls for a meeting with Kern.

Who: Speakers will include Rev. Loyce Newton-Edwards, president of the Oklahoma City PFLAG chapter; chapter vice president Conna Wilkinson; and attorney Richard Ogden, chair of Cimarron Alliance Foundation.

Why: “Representative Kern’s remarks undermine our nation’s commitment to ‘liberty and justice for all,’ and do a great disservice to our families and communities,” PFLAG says in a statement to be released at the rally. “Every Oklahoman, and every American, deserves a public servant who believes in the dignity of all our children and who refuses to take part in divisive and counter-productive attacks on our families. Words matter, and Representative Kern’s statement sent a clear message that she condones second-class citizenship for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Her remarks disrespect our GLBT loved ones, dishonor the service of nearly 10,000 lesbian and gay veterans in Oklahoma and disregard her duty to uphold our country’s most noble values. Representative Kern owes her constituents an explanation, and our families an apology.”

When: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
12 Noon – 1 pm

Where: The Oklahoma State Capitol 1^st Floor Rotunda
North Lincoln Boulevard at N.E. 23^rd Street, Oklahoma City

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PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. For more information, visit www.pflag.org.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Solidarity Vigil

Oklahomans for Equality (OkEq) will host a Solidarity Vigil to reflect on the dialogue created by Representative Sally Kern in the past weeks.

Tuesday, March 18, 7pm, Dennis R. Neill Equality Center

Join us in honoring the support of our allies, hear words of comfort from local community leaders, and celebrate our diversity and oneness in a time of healing as we bridge to a journey of continued justice and equality for all Oklahomans.

Speakers:

• Lana Turner-Addison, Tulsa’s Director of Human Rights
• Jeremy Elliot, All Souls Unitarian Church
• Rev. Chaz Gaut, OkEq Board Member (Moderator)

Entertainment: Andre’ Martin