A Gay Campaign? Both Sides Demur

A Gay Campaign? Both Sides Demur
By HAILEY R. BRANSON
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: July 19, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/us/politics/20oklahoma.html?th&emc=th


OKLAHOMA CITY — One of the more unlikely showdowns for the fall elections is taking shape here in this staunchly conservative state, where same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned and the Legislature frequently takes on issues like abortion.

Brittany Novotny, a Democrat and Oklahoma’s first known transgender candidate, is running for a seat in the State House against Sally Kern, the Republican incumbent who gained national attention in 2008 for saying that “the homosexual agenda is just destroying this nation” and that homosexuality was a bigger threat than terrorism.

Both candidates for House District 84 in west Oklahoma City — where Mrs. Kern won by a comfortable margin in 2008 and remains popular — have insisted that Ms. Novotny’s sex will not be an issue in their campaigns. But some of Mrs. Kern’s supporters have voiced concern that the “homosexual lobby” has recruited Ms. Novotny, who identifies as a heterosexual woman.

The group Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, which has hosted “Rallies for Sally,” said in a mass e-mail message in June, “The homosexual lobby from across America will be pouring money into this local race in an attempt to make a statement to the country by knocking out an outspoken Christian, pro-family representative.”

Mrs. Kern, 63, said that she and her husband, Steven D. Kern, a Baptist minister, have attended events held by Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, but that she had “no say in what they write on their materials or Web site.”

Ms. Novotny, a 30-year-old lawyer running for public office for the first time, rejected the notion that her campaign was largely financed by gay rights groups.

Ms. Novotny grew up in Oklahoma City as William Novotny. She began her sex transition in 2005, after graduating from the University of California Hastings College of the Law. She completed the transition in 2007.

“To me, it’s not an issue,” she said.

“I fully anticipate someone will try to make it an issue,” she said, “but I want to be a representative, and I don’t want to let the fact that I went through that part of my life affect that I am right for the job.”

Mrs. Kern first took office in January 2005 after two decades as a high school government and social studies teacher. She is a popular attendee at the meetings of the High Noon Club, a conservative social group that meets every Friday at the H&H Gun Range here.

Her comments about homosexuals in 2008, at a Republican club in Oklahoma City, continue to follow her. During that speech, she said, “Studies show no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than a few decades.”

“I was first elected in 2004,” Mrs. Kern said in a recent e-mail message. “In 2006, I didn’t have an opponent. Since my statements were put on YouTube, I have had opponents in 2008 and now in 2010 who are supportive of homosexual issues and have their support.”

In 2009, Mrs. Kern sponsored the signing of a morality proclamation that stated that the country’s economic problems were a result of declining moral values, including same-sex marriage, divorce, abortion and child abuse.

Carol Hefner of Edmond, Okla., does not live in Mrs. Kern’s district but identifies herself as a supporter. She said she thought Mrs. Kern would be re-elected because “her viewpoints are embraced by the electorate.”

“It is refreshing to have people like Sally Kern, who will walk through the minefield of political correctness to make wise choices for the people of her district and the state of Oklahoma,” Ms. Hefner said.