OKLAHOMA
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
Oklahoma's Presidential Preferential Primary
is Tuesday, and Oklahoma's GLBT Democrats are heavily
involved as never before in this year's election.
Part of that is due to the acceptance of GLBT
activists by the Oklahoma
Democratic Party - as reflected in the fact that Paul
Barby, who ran for office as an openly-Gay candidate,
is currently the Party's state secretary - and the Central
Oklahoma Stonewall Democrats was made an official Party
organization at the last state Democratic Party
convention. And part of it is from the move by then-senator
Keith Leftwich to move Oklahoma's primary date up.
This has placed Oklahoma in the front tier of state
primaries, focusing national attention on Oklahoma
that it has never gotten before and energizing
politics here in a way that can only come from being
wooed by several Presidential candidates at the same
trime.
And, of course, another part is Howard Dean, who won
the admiration of the GLBT Community when he signed
the nation's first civil unions law as governor of
Vermont. While many in our community are supporting
Dean for that reason, among others, there are others
in our community who are supporting other candidates,
such as Jim Roth and Terry Gatewood, who have
endorsed Wesley Clark (currently on the cover of The
Advocate).
All of them are sure to be a big part of the voter
turnout in this primary. While the polls will be open
on Tues, Feb 3, early voting actually started Friday.
Oklahoma
State Election Board
THE
OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE
Note for those GLBT Republicans looking for
someone else besides George Bush to vote for on
Tuesday: Bill Wyatt, who is running for the
Republican presidential nomination against George
Bush, was in town over the weekend. You can read all
about his visit on his website at www.billwyatt.org.
MARRIAGE
RALLY?
I want to apologize to whoever it was who
sent me an email not too long ago about the
possibility of organizing some kind of rally for
Valentine's Day or Freedom To Marry Week. I meant to
get back to you, but in the last minute details of
putting together the State of Our Community, it fell
through the cracks and now I can't seem to find your
email. If you could send me another email, I'd like
to help you find out if this idea has any chance of
getting off the ground. Please email me at rabiera@gayokc.com.
NUUF
MARRIAGE AD
Speaking of marriage rights, Susan Cogan at
the Norman
Unitarian Church has put together an ad which they
would like to place in the Norman Transcript.
The half-page ad will cost $825. According to Susan:
"This is beyond the means of our tiny church and
we are asking for donations to help pay for it."
If you would like to donate to the cost of running
the ad, Mail Checks to:
NUUF
1309 W. Boyd
Norman, OK 73069
Please make out checks to "NUUF" with
"marriage ad" on the memo line. Include a
note indicating whether or not you want your name to
appear on the ad. These donations are tax deductible.
Here is a pdf of the ad: http://www.nuuf.org/ad_for_transcript.pdf
You can reach Susan at susan-brassfield@ou.edu.
HERLAND
VOICE
The February edition of the Herland Voice is
now online. www.herlandsisters.org
BAT
BOY
Preview of Bat Boy: The Musical
To Benefit RAIN Oklahoma
Tulsa—Following last summer’s highly
successful run of Bat Boy: The Musical,
American Theatre Company is bringing the show back
for a second run at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center
February 6-14.
ATC is graciously allowing RAIN Oklahoma to sell
tickets to their dress rehearsal of Bat Boy
on Wednesday, February 4 at 8:00 pm. Tickets for this
preview are only $5.00. All proceeds from the
February 4 performance will go to RAIN (Regional AIDS
Interfaith Network), which provides non-medical
assistance to people living with AIDS throughout
Oklahoma.
Rescued from a cave, a half-boy, half-bat is taken to
a veterinarian's home to be "put down." The
empathetic wife of the vet has other ideas, and with
loving guidance teaches "Edgar" to speak
and act in civilized ways. When he falls in love with
his mentor's daughter, problems erupt that go beyond
typical dating issues. Fast-paced and hilarious, this
off-kilter satire offers clever musical numbers, a
hilarious plot, surprising twists, and a lesson in
the agony of being different and accepting your inner
beast. The show contains some adult situations and
may not be suitable for young children.
Michael Smith of the Tulsa World called last
summer’s production of Bat Boy “A
smash, the hippest, most hilarious show on a PAC
stage in a long time.”
Tickets for the RAIN benefit performance are general
admission and can be reserved by calling Justice at
the Tulsa RAIN office at (918) 834-4195, or emailing
Justice at raintulsa@sbcglobal.net.
Tickets for the regular run of Bat Boy: The Musical
are $20-$24. They can be purchased at the Tulsa
Performing Arts center ticket office or reserved by
phone at (918) 596-7111 Monday thru Friday from 10:00
am to 5:30 pm. Tickets may also be purchased at www.tulsapac.com.
SONJA
& FRIENDS
My guests for Friday, February 6, are
Lynnette Stroebele and Roxy Hart. Show Time 8:00 PM
To 9:00 PM At Partners. Thank You,
Sonja
OKLAHOMA
GLBT LEADERS ENDORSE DEAN
Over 100 Oklahoma Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender Leaders have endorsed Governor Howard
Dean, candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination
for President of the United States.
"Governor Dean has been the only candidate to
back up his speech with action, by signing Vermont's
civil union law - and he stood with us through the
political fallout that came with it, " says
Keith Smith, a National Board Member of the Stonewall
Democrats.
Dean's GLBT supporters plan to reach out to the gay
community throughout the next month, since that
community has been a cornerstone of Dean's campaign
since the early days.
Volunteers will be actively recruiting and
identifying voters for a massive "Get Out The
Vote" push within the GLBT community.
The following GLBT leaders in Oklahoma have publicly
endorsed Governor Dean:
Marty Newman, John Gibbons, Dr. Shirley Hunter, Keith
Smith, Lee Burrus, Rhonda Rudd, Rodney Johnson, G.G.
George, Philippe Beaudette, Joe Quigley, James Nimmo,
Rex Ball, Nick Post, Tony Foss, Steven Edwards, Paul
Bashline, TJ McKinsey, Edward Kromer, Bob Lemon,
Chrys Lemon, Carmen Coronado, Karen Parsons, Pam
Paul, Diane Deason, Corky Green, David Nickell,
Karen Weldin, Clyde Pierce, Dorothy Alexander, Paul
Barby, Jayshree Naidu, Mark Henricksen, Wanda
Chapman, Dee Corley, Sonja Martinez, Preston White,
David Davis, Sherry Maxwell, Kathy McKean, Susann
Bain, Eotree Palmer, Stan Simpson, Jon Harle, Tim
Gillean, Ken Draper, Floyd Martin, David Paddock,
Phillip Cyr, Duane Moore, Joe Freeman, Will Decker,
Sarah Scanlon, Carmen Coronado, Dena Link, Kent Doss,
Terry Dennison, Rick Chappell, Rex Mendenhall, Jon
Tipton, Jason Anderson, Toby Vanrakan, Walter Oaks,
Dallas Williams, K. Brad Douglas, Julian Vasek, Gabe
Coppinger, Christian Pellesehi, Steve Callahan, Buzz
Anderson, David L Clark, Craig Travis, Jason
Krottinger, Douglas Redus, Matthew Opalka, Tamara
Knight, Pam Lowery, Gayla Barker, Lee Morgan, Robert
Winders, Angelo Rodriguez Jr., Raven Delray, Steven
Lofton, Felicia Fontaine, Phil Burke, Jess Brent
Barnes, Robert R. Nixon, Rob Morrison, Martin Berry,
Ed Walker, Gary Davis, Pearl Pearson, Glenn Ladd,
Lewis Cleveland, Jesse McGee, Jr., Ben J. Williams,
Patrick Mahoney, Jeffrey Askins, Jacob S. Nielsen,
Monty Jacobs, Al McAffrey, JT Estrada, James K
Richardson, Jeff Thompson.
OFEC
ISSUES ACTION ALERT ON SJR 38
Dear OFEC Members and Supporters,
A bill has been filed in the Oklahoma Senate. Please
read and take action today!
Karen Weldin
Rodney Johnson
OFEC Co-Chairs
Info@OFEC.org
www.ofec.org
STOP the passage
of anti-GLBT legislation that has just been
introduced
Senate Republican Floor Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa,
introduced legislation, SJR 38, to send a “defense
of marriage” constitutional amendment to a vote
of the people. Williamson’s constitutional
amendment would define marriage as “the union of
one man and one woman,” and would prohibit the
state from recognizing same-gender marriages
performed in other states. The amendment also states,
“Neither this Constitution nor any other
provision of law shall be construed to require that
marital status or the legal incidents thereof be
conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.”
Take Action Now! Tell your senator the you will not
stand for this type of divisive, mean-spirited law
that were designed to single out and marginalize an
entire group of Oklahomans for unequal treatment."
I ask you to tell your senator we will not
marginalize any Oklahoman by voting no on SJR 38.
Take Action!
"MARRIAGE
PROTECTION" AMENDMENT INTRODUCED IN OK SENATE
The following press release was issued
by senator Williamson's office on Friday, January 23.
Senate Republican Leader Introduces ‘Marriage
Protection’ Amendment
Williamson Appeals for Governor Henry’s
Leadership, Support on Issue
State Capitol, Oklahoma City – Senate Republican
Floor Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa, today
introduced legislation, SJR 38, to send a “defense
of marriage” constitutional amendment to a vote
of the people.
“As President Bush noted in his State of the
Union address, the sanctity of marriage is under
assault from activist judges in America today,”
Williamson said. “Amending our state
Constitution is the best way we can ensure
traditional marriage is protected here in Oklahoma.”
Williamson’s constitutional amendment would
define marriage as “the union of one man and one
woman,” and would prohibit the state from
recognizing same-gender marriages performed in other
states. The amendment also states, “Neither this
Constitution nor any other provision of law shall be
construed to require that marital status or the legal
incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples
or groups.”
Williamson said despite recent remarks by Gov. Brad
Henry that additional protections for marriage are
not needed, Oklahoma is at risk of a court decision
like last year’s ruling by the Massachusetts
Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage in that state.
“I asked the Senate’s general counsel to
review the Massachusetts case to determine if an
activist Oklahoma judge could make a similar ruling
based on the working of our state Constitution. The
answer was, yes, there is a risk that this type of
ruling could occur in Oklahoma.
“This is why Oklahoma needs a constitutional
amendment to protect traditional marriage.
Republicans are appealing to Gov. Henry to change his
mind about this important issue and join us in a
bipartisan effort to constitutionally protect
marriage in Oklahoma,” Williamson stated.
Williamson said he also supports legislation by House
Republicans that encourages the U.S. Congress to
provide federal constitutional protections for
marriage.
“Protecting traditional marriage is one the most
important social and moral issues of the day.
Encouraging Congress to take action at the federal
level is a very important part of protecting
traditional marriage in the United States,” he
stated.
Rep. Mike O’Neal, R-Enid, is the House co-author
of SJR 38.
THANKS
FOR VISITING!
i 
