Sally Kern (born November 27, 1946) is an American politician and former educator who served as a member of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

for the 84th district from 2005 to 2017.

Early life and education

Kern was born in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of Te ...

and a teaching credential from

East Texas State University East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Career

Kern authored a bill, which passed the

in March 2008, mandating that students who believe in

Young Earth creationism Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespre ...

still receive passing grades in

Earth science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

classes. After being passed in the House, it was voted down in a Senate committee without reaching the floor for debate. Kern co-authored the Religious Viewpoints Anti-discrimination Act that included the provision "Students shall not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of their work", which was vetoed by Governor

Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who was the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected governor in 2002. Henry won re-election for a second term ...

. In March 2008, Kern made national headlines when she stated that

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

was a greater threat to national security than

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. After receiving attention for the remarks, Kern refused to apologize. She received a standing ovation from fellow Republican legislators in a private meeting a few days later. In response to Kern's comments, hundreds of

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and lesbian rights supporters protested at the

Oklahoma State Capitol The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature and executive branch offices. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City and contains 452,50 ...

. Over 1500 people later turned out at the Capitol to support her. Kern claimed to have received death threats that caused her to hire a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

. In January 2015, she introduced three bills in the state legislature which would permit businesses to deny goods, services, or other forms of public accommodation to lesbian, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, or

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

people; prohibit the state from interfering if parents put their children through so-called "

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

"; and to fire any state employee who grants (such as authorized by the district court ruling in ''

Bishop v. Oklahoma Same-sex marriage in Oklahoma has been legal since October 6, 2014, following the resolution of a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. On that day, following the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court's refusa ...

'') a

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

license. On May 2, 2011, The Oklahoma State House of Representatives publicly reprimanded Kern for the comments she made which some people interpreted as unflattering to blacks and women during a debate on affirmative action. Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, made the motion to reprimand her. A member objected, and the House voted 76–17 to reprimand Kern. In 2011, she published her memoir, ''The Stoning of Sally Kern: The Liberal Attack on Christian Conservatism – and Why We Must Take a Stand''.

Personal life

She is married to Steve Kern, pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in the Oklahoma City area.Oklahoma House of Representatives – Sally Kern

Election history

*2004 Race for

– District 84 *2006 Race for

– District 84 *2008 Race for

– District 84 *2010 Race for

– District 84 In 2012, she was opposed in the Republican primary by small business owner Curtis Moore, but defeated him by 1500 votes to 507 for Moore; she was unopposed in the general election. In 2014 she was unopposed in both the primary and general elections. In 2016 she was term-limited and did not seek re-election.Ballotpedia
/ref>

References

External links

Project Vote Smart – Representative Sally R. Kern

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kern, Sally 1946 births Living people Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Politicians from Jonesboro, Arkansas University of Texas at Arlington alumni Women state legislators in Oklahoma 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians