OK City is it gay friendly? (Oklahoma City, Edmond: school, university, taxi)

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

That's an outrageuos remark, StillwaterTownie. Name one hate crime in OKC where a gay person was murdered for being gay. The last time I can recall someone being murdered for being gay was in Wyoming.

I know gay people in OKC, and I would have heard about it first had if something like that would have happened. Sally Kern's village idiot remarks are as bad as it will ever get.

I find it amusing the exaggeration of OKC's conservative climate. It's a laugh at best.

Wake up okcpulse to the truth of the matter. It's indeed true an older gay man was murdered in OKC over being gay about a couple of years ago. It was all over the news. And, no, okcpulse, the strong extent of OKC's conservataive anti-gay climate is certainly no exaggeration, and it's not all an amusing. Of course, people, if they want, can pick out conflicts to that idea, such as Okahoma City electing Oklahoma's first openly gay legislator and then later not getting any opposition to securing his second term. But then Sally Kern's antics tend to cancel that fact out. I've heard there's a silver lining behind every cloud, but you still have that ugly cloud to contend with.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by robertjohnson

never

Wrong. Please explain to me why you and others can't remember the story about the gay gay who was murdered for being gay in OKC a couple years ago?

[LadyRobyn]

LindseyLou, Rather than give you hearsay and personal conjecture I'll give you a few useful links.

GayOKC.com Database - Your Directory of All Things GLBT in OKC!

Oklahoma Gay Lesbian Directory - Business, News, Events

I *think* the murder that StillwaterTownie is talking about happened 2 years ago...the killer was a white supremacist (psycho) and he got life in prison... You can read about it here: Steve Domer [The LGBT Hate Crimes Project]

[Lillywhite]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

I find it amusing the exaggeration of OKC's conservative climate. It's a laugh at best.

This speaks volumes.

[Boxcar Overkill]

Gay people would survive in OKC, but I wouldn't call it gay friendly. I'm trying to think of another major city in the U.S. that would be less friendly to gays than Oklahoma City, and I'm drawing a blank. This is something we Oklahoman's really need to work on.

[rockyinyourradio]

Originally Posted by LindseyLou

One of my friends is being transferred to Oklahoma City. Will he and his partner find it to be gay friendly or at least tolerant?

From someone who has a number of gay/bisexual friends, I can tell you that they should not have much problem in OKC. True its not as gay friendly as say, San Francisco.. but I think it's highly unlikely that they will be ostracized for their lifestyle as long as they don't get too flagrant about it in public.

The most gay friendly area in Oklahoma City is the Paseo District. There you can find a decent 2 bedroom apartment for about 500-800 dollars/month. Also, they may want to consider Norman which is somewhat more progressive in their attitudes toward same sex couples. I would steer them away from places like Edmond or Yukon, much more conservative there and may have a slightly higher chance of an unfortunate run in with homophobic people. Overall, I think they should adjust fine.. and I can concur that hate crimes against gays are very uncommon here. OKC has come a long way with its tolerant attitudes toward different lifestyles.

Rocky&family

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Gays are still sometimes in the news in OKC for getting murdered for being gay.

This statement makes it sound like its a recurring problem. Then when you were called on to back up your statement, you mentioned ONE person who was murdered two years ago. That's like saying OKC is the city where sometimes buildings are blown up.

I have gay friends, and I work with gay people. I don't see any of them being treated any differently than anyone else. That doesn't mean there isn't any "behind the scenes" thing going on, but I don't see any difference from where I moved from, which was (and probably still is) a VERY liberal state.

[okcpulse]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Wake up okcpulse to the truth of the matter. It's indeed true an older gay man was murdered in OKC over being gay about a couple of years ago. It was all over the news. And, no, okcpulse, the strong extent of OKC's conservataive anti-gay climate is certainly no exaggeration, and it's not all an amusing. Of course, people, if they want, can pick out conflicts to that idea, such as Okahoma City electing Oklahoma's first openly gay legislator and then later not getting any opposition to securing his second term. But then Sally Kern's antics tend to cancel that fact out. I've heard there's a silver lining behind every cloud, but you still have that ugly cloud to contend with.

Do not ask me to wake up to the truth when I am an indigenous Oklahoma Citian who spent 27 years growing up with the community. How often in that span did gay hate crimes hit the news? From 1978 to 2009, let's iterate through the list.

Well, let's see... there was the Cimarron Alliance banner removal which was in the early 2000s. The city did lose the case, but did not try to fight it again. If Oklahoma City was as anti-gay as you make it, the city would be trying to remove the banners every year, and the "thou-shalt-nots" that supposedly saturate the city would be out in force every year to see to the removal of the banners. It happened, it was settled, done deal. The city left it at that.

The murder you are speaking of happened two years ago was indeed committed by a white supremacist, who was tossed in the slammer for the hate crime. You make it sound as though this happens as often as a man shooting his girlfriend and children, which happens much more often. So then what does that make Oklahoma City... anti-girlfriend and child friendly? No. There are 551,000 people in Oklahoma City, and I am pretty sure a handful don't have all of their dogs barking. A white supremacist does not define the characteristics of a city any more than anyone else. If Oklahoma City were truly anti-gay, this guy would have received a pat on the back much in the same way anti-American hackers get praise in Russia for stealing our identities and ruin our lives.

Outside of that, I would have to dig deep. The dragging in Texas of a black man hit the national press in the late 1990s. Yet for some reason, Texas is seen as a black-friendly state while Oklahoma gets its feet held to the fire for a race riot that happened decades before the entire nation was ever race friendly. Go to Vidor, Texas some time. How many times have I heard the N word in northwest Arkansas? More times in one weekend than in OKC in any given year.

It really comes down to a simple choice. If you want to see Oklahoma truly, truly change, throwing up the "Don't Come to Oklahoma" banner certainly isn't going to invite change, is it? Does Oklahoma City need to be more gay friendly? Certainly. I encourage it. Is Oklahoma City gay friendly now? Not as much as other cities, but more so than in deep southern cities and most certainly more friendly than rural religious areas in this country.

But we have to start somewhere, and we certainly cannot stop nutjobs either.

[okcpulse]

Originally Posted by rockyinyourradio

From someone who has a number of gay/bisexual friends, I can tell you that they should not have much problem in OKC. True its not as gay friendly as say, San Francisco.. but I think it's highly unlikely that they will be ostracized for their lifestyle as long as they don't get too flagrant about it in public.

The most gay friendly area in Oklahoma City is the Paseo District. There you can find a decent 2 bedroom apartment for about 500-800 dollars/month. Also, they may want to consider Norman which is somewhat more progressive in their attitudes toward same sex couples. I would steer them away from places like Edmond or Yukon, much more conservative there and may have a slightly higher chance of an unfortunate run in with homophobic people. Overall, I think they should adjust fine.. and I can concur that hate crimes against gays are very uncommon here. OKC has come a long way with its tolerant attitudes toward different lifestyles.

Rocky&family

You hit the nail right on the head. Very, very true.

[StillwaterTownie]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

Do not ask me to wake up to the truth when I am an indigenous Oklahoma Citian who spent 27 years growing up with the community. How often in that span did gay hate crimes hit the news? From 1978 to 2009, let's iterate through the list.

Don't worry, okcpulse I will be kind and considerate enough to wake you up to the truth when you need it.

Just because not many violent hate crimes against gays don't hit the news all that often is no proof such goings on are very rare in OKC. Who knows how many such crimes don't even get reported to the police because the gay crime victim fears being outed to his boss, friends and loved ones as a result? You and me just don't know.

On the positive side, I will add that the Oklahoman editorial page certainly did become considerably less vile and polluted from anti gay rantings ever since one of its main editorial writers who was doing such writings left that paper earlier in this decade. Like you said. we have to start somewhere, and one of those somewheres turned out to the the Oklahoman.