No. Not me. And, would it really matter if I was? No. But, a fellow human being who lives in my home town is gay. Not extraordinary by any means, but suddenly in the spotlight of local politics, and soon national headlines. His name is Keith Kimmel. I just talked to Keith for the first time on the phone this evening. He’s 28 years old, a college student, and living in one of the biggest backasswards States in the Union. Oklahoma. Some call it the ‘Buckle of the Bible Belt’ while others call it a throwback to the ignorance and bigotry of the Civil Rights era. I choose to call it home as does Keith Kimmel.
A good friend of mine called me tonight during Rock & Roll Diner, a show that airs on my Internet radio station. My friend works for one of the local television stations in Oklahoma City. He happened to mention a story about a man suing the State of Oklahoma Tax Commission over their denial of a vanity license plate that he wants for his car. ‘IM GAY’ My friend thought it was odd that the State would deny this plate when they were more than happy to grant me a vanity plate that reads ‘ATHEIST’. He mentioned this fact to some of the folks in the newsroom at the station, and no one wanted to believe him. They didn’t want to believe that the State of Oklahoma would grant me ‘ATHEIST’ but deny ‘IM GAY’. Some speculated that maybe the State had denied the ‘IM GAY’ plate for reasons of safety, protecting the vehicle owner from religious bigotry, hate, and possible physical harm. But, my guess is far from that. And, in fact, it is my position that the State of Oklahoma is using religion and hypocrisy as a guide.
I’ve jumped into the fray. Why? Well, more than anything, I can’t stand discrimination, bigotry and hypocrisy. And, in this case, there’s plenty to go around. The State already has a piss poor record when it comes to LGBT rights, and they are far from friendly to anyone who isn’t a rednecked, skydaddy fearing, ignoranus. Yes, I said ignoranus! But, what prompted me to contact Keith Kimmel was an honest desire to stand up for the rights of a fellow human being, AND defend not only his rights and my rights, but human beings rights. You see, I have a plate that says ‘ATHEIST’. Yet, when I talked with Keith, I discovered that the State had denied ‘GODLESS‘ in the past. Pretty fucked up huh? Indeed! The State has also seen fit to grant ‘VIBR8TR’ and ‘KILLER’, the latter being issued to a pest control company owner. But, at issue here isn’t so much the words as the interpretation. Subjectivity and religious bigotry are really what is on trial here. And, in the end game, individual rights must prevail.
The State of Oklahoma Tax Commission uses subjectivity to determine what can be displayed on a vanity plate. Objectivity is nowhere to be found. Keith has discovered that there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of plates that could be subjectively found to be offensive. Yet, ‘ATHEIST’ is not as offensive as ‘GODLESS’ and ‘VIBR8TR’ is not as offensive as ‘IM GAY’? Where’s the logic? There is none!
Keith Kimmel has graciously agreed to appear this Friday on my show American Heathen®. He will be in-studio to talk about this insanity and about LGBT rights in Oklahoma. In the meantime, I’m going to dig a little deeper into the rabbit hole of Oklahoma in Wonderland to see what other strange goings on are worming their way through the halls of government. While I break out my shovel, stop by Keith’s Facebook Fan Page and join others in lending your support. This issue is just getting its feet wet. Trust me when I say that this will be hitting the national scene very soon.
American Heathen® This Friday! 8pm ET, 7pm CT LIVE on ShockNetRadio.com
(simulcast on FreethoughtRadio.com)
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