A backer for anti-gay Oklahoma state
Representative Sally Kern is referring to her transgender rival
Brittany Novotny as a male, The Oklahoman reported.
Novotny is challenging Kern, the woman
best known for saying gay folks were the “biggest threat our nation
has” at a 2008 gathering of Republicans, for the seat she's held
since 2005.
Charlie Meadows, chairman of the
Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC), who
previously called Novotny “a confused 'it,'” is now referring to
her as a man.
In an email to OCPAC members, Meadows
discusses an invitation he extended to Novotny to attend one of his
group's meetings.
“Hopefully Brittany will decide to
attend,” he wrote. “If he wants to talk about issues, he will do
that.”
Meadows explained that he still
considers Novotny a man because she still has male DNA.
“That's a more accurate description,”
Meadows said.
Saying she would prefer to debate Kern
in a town hall meeting, Novotny declined the OCPAC invitation. She
added that Meadows is “free to call me what he wants. I'm
comfortable with who I am.”
While Kern faced stiff criticism from
gay rights groups for her comments, the media attention turned the
politician into an overnight right-wing celebrity. And the
63-year-old Baptist minister's wife has continued to speak out
against gay rights.