We've been here before - Sally Kern

By now everyone knows about Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern's diatribe of lies against the lgbt community.

Let me tell you all how this is probably going to end:

Us gay folks are going to focus on calling Kern a homophobe for what she said but we won’t focus on the specifics of how she is lying.

Kern is going to hide behind the first amendment probably because no one is going to ask her just where did her information come from.

The religious right is going to try and make her a martyr. It’s not unusual for them. Lies and distortions are what they deal in.

Who is going to say "SALLY KERN, THESE ARE THE WORDS COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH. LET'S SEE THESE FACTS YOU ALLUDED TO ABOUT GAY PEOPLE."

We all recognize those claims from Kern’s mouth. The lies about gay men and children, the lies about the alleged "gay life span;" they are the lies the anti-gay industry have been throwing at us for years. And no matter how many times these lies are discredited, they are still useful.

Let’s face it. No matter how Kern tries to make herself seem innocent, the fact of the matter is she referred to discredited work. And people need to know that. It probably won’t change some minds but I have a feeling that quite a few won’t exactly feel comfortable with a legislator who cites bad studies about gays.

Especially when that legislator has a history of targeting gays with her bills.

How often does this sort of thing happen across the country? How many legislators are privy to bad information about the gay community via religious right propaganda.

And how often do we NOT engage in “show us where you get your facts from” campaigns. This is what needs to be done in situations like this.

By calling people names and not showing just why they are wrong in their claims, we help out the enemy. When people are angry, they tend to react rather than proactive.

And almost every time a situation like this happens (i.e a legislator attacks the gay community via anti-gay industry propaganda) we tend to react angrily. We aggressively write letters and have marches.

Meanwhile the offending legislator tends to act all innocent and superior.

“I am only debating the issue,” he or she would say, “I am only using my First Amendment Rights.”

It was done in the case of Ft. Lauderdale mayor Jim Naugle and it will be done here.

Rep. Kern was not speaking impromptu. She did not just think of this information out of thin air. Someone fed this woman the information which she is now repeating.

And when we attack those sources, we get to the true root of the lies and the words that causes fear and murder.

And by the sources, I mean the propaganda movies from American Family Association, the pseudo-scientific papers from Concerned Women for American, Family Research Council, and the Traditional Values Coalition, the astroturfing groups pretending to be "parents' rights organizations" across the country.

All have a hand in manufacturing the lies that came from Kerns's mouth. And all must be made accountable.