TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – An Oklahoma state senator said during a public forum in the capital of the Cherokee Nation reservation that LGBTQ+ people are “filth,” and that he and his constituents don’t want them in “our state.”
The panel during the Feb. 23 Legislative Update included four of the six lawmakers, all of them Republicans, who represent parts of Cherokee County. District 4 State Sen. Tom Woods was among those who attended.
Audience member Cathy Cott asked two questions, the first on why State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters was “bullying” school districts and referring to teachers as “terrorists.”
“My second question is, why does the Legislature have such an obsession with the LGBTQ citizens of Oklahoma and what people do in their personal lives and how they raise their children?” Cott said.
All four legislators answered the first part of Cott’s question, but passed over the second until Cott stood up and demanded an answer.
“Is there a reason why you won’t answer about the 50 bills targeting the LGBTQ community in the state of Oklahoma? If you are ashamed of those bills, they shouldn’t be there,” Cott said.
Cott pointed out that a 16-year-old had died earlier this month following a physical altercation at the high school in Owasso, a suburb of Tulsa. Cause of death had not been definitively established as of Saturday morning, though police said a preliminary report indicated trauma due to the encounter with other students didn’t kill Nex Benedict.
After District 6 State Rep. David Hardin and District 3 State Sen. Stephens responded, Woods said that while his “heart goes out” regarding the teen’s death, he represents a constituency.
“We are a Republican state – supermajority – in the House and Senate. I represent a constituency that doesn’t want that filth in Oklahoma,” Woods said.
Several audience members clapped at his statement, while others appeared shocked. A handful walked out.
“We are a religious state and we are going to fight it to keep that filth out of the state of Oklahoma because we are a Christian state – we are a moral state,” Woods said. “We want to lower taxes and let people be able to live and work and go to the faith they choose. We are a Republican state and I’m going to vote my district, and I’m going to vote my values, and we don’t want that in the state of Oklahoma.”
Woods represents Adair County, plus parts of Cherokee, Sequoyah and Delaware counties.
Hardin, who was the first to answer Cott’s question, said that while he hasn’t seen 50 bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals, a few have gone through.
“How you live your life personally, that’s between you and God. I have no judgment in that, but what goes through our public schools – I will fall back on my faith,” Hardin said. “I want to make sure that at least the children in our public schools have that faith … what I want to make sure of is that our young children have the right to grow up with that faith, and if they choose to change it, that’s fine.”
In response to Cott’s comment about Nex Benedict, the LGBTQ+ student who died, Hardin said, “That’s horrible. I don’t know about that case but I’ll check into it.”
Stephens said that as an educator, he had taken an oath to educate and not “indoctrinate” students.
“We are there to educate our students, love and nurture them and help them to be successful,” Stephens said.
Event moderator Michael Stopp chairs the Government Affairs Committee of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the forum. Stopp said the death of any student is tragic and what happened to Nex Benedict is “terrible.”
“I do want to caution everyone on what they read in social media, and even sometimes in the [traditional] media. What we found out this morning … what we were hearing about the incident in Owasso, was not completely accurate and was, in many ways, blown out of proportion,” Stopp said.
Stopp said he’s seen no news about how the student actually died, and that there has been finger-pointing at the school district.
“The school system sent out a press release stating they followed all procedures, including having a nurse speak to the children that were in the fight, and gave the parents the opportunity to call the police and press charges,” Stopp said.
District 9 State Sen. Pemberton did not respond to Cott’s question during the forum, but afterward, he said he didn’t believe there was any animosity in the Legislature toward the LGBTQ+ community.
“Legislators represent their constituents and their desires. More often, it’s the majority of the constituents they represent. Legislators can never satisfy all people all the time,” Pemberton said. “I can’t confirm the number [of bills Cott] presented in the meeting today.”
When asked what he thought of Woods’ characterization of LGBTQ+ individuals as “filth,” Pemberton said, “No comment.”
After the forum, Woods reiterated his position.
“I support my constituency, and like I said, we’re a Christian state, and we are tired of having that shoved down our throat at every turn. I’ll let my words [spoken here] speak for theirselves, but that is my statement, and I stand behind it, and I stand behind the Republican Party values, and that is my statement,” Woods said.
Later Friday afternoon, Woods was contacted by Oklahoma Voice, an independent online journalism enterprise. Asked about his comments at the forum, Woods said he had been quoted correctly by the Tahlequah Daily Press, and asked that reporter to call him back after he had a chance to talk to the state Senate’s communications team. However, the Oklahoma Voice said Woods had not responded to a followup phone call as of Friday evening. Other Oklahoma media outlets said they had not been able to reach him, either.
Saturday afternoon, Senate Democratic Leader Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, issued a statement about the Tahlequah forum.
“As elected officials, we are held to a higher standard. Words have consequences, and this kind of conduct is unbecoming of an elected official. It is our duty to represent and protect everyone, and not make things worse,” Floyd said.