House won't cite member for anti-gay talk

OKLAHOMA CITY, March 14 (UPI) -- Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern will not receive legislative punishment for anti-gay comments she made earlier this year, House Speaker Chris Benge said.

Thousands of e-mails and phone calls began flooding the offices of Kern and other legislators after Kern told a group of fellow Republicans that gays are "the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam," the Oklahoman reported Friday.

The reaction followed the posting of Kern's comments on the YouTube Internet site.

Benge, a Republican, said she does not plan to punish Kern for the remarks, which were made in January.

Several organizations reportedly requested that Benge punish Kern or require her to apologize. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is examining a large number of alleged e-mail and phone death threats Kern has received.

"I'm not going to live my life in fear," Kern said. "The bottom line is I know in my heart I know what I said and it's being taken out of context."