Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City), who once called gays more dangerous to America than terrorists, will face a challenge from transgender attorney Brittany Novotny this fall. Novotny filed papers on Tuesday, Tulsa World reports:
"Novotny, 30, said the campaign is not about her gender identity.
'For six years, we've had someone who has not represented her district, has been ineffective on problems, and is bad for business,' she said.
Novotny said Kern is pushing her personal agenda instead of focusing on issues that are important to House District 84, and because of that, the state and Kern's Oklahoma City district have suffered.
'She focuses on things that aren't critical issues to the district, like education,' Novotny said, adding that that leaves many constituents feeling disconnected."
Kern has promised to focus on the issues:
"Kern, 63, said she does not plan to mention Novotny's gender identity in the campaign.
'There is so much we disagree on policywise that that is enough for us to debate on,' she said. Novotny said she wants people to understand that she is a heterosexual female who was raised as a male. She legally and surgically transitioned into a female three years ago.
Kern said Novotny's attacks on her about not paying enough attention to education are campaign rhetoric."
As a side note, Novotny was representing the late Keith Kimmel in his battle to win the right to put an Oklahoma license plate on his car that said "IM GAY".
