GOP condemned Sen. Woods' 'filth' remarks, but look at their voting records. It's lip service. | Opinion
Put up or shut up.
That’s the message that Oklahomans ought to be sending to their Republican senators, who purport to be horrified and appalled by the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric spewed by one of their own.
After all, we all know talk is cheap if an apology isn’t followed by meaningful action to back it up.
And, so far all we’ve seen from Republicans is lip service.
A little over a week ago now, Sen. Tom Woods, R-Westville, referred to the state’s LGBTQ community as “filth” during a public forum in Tahlequah. Among other things, he was answering questions from voters about a plethora of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative measures filed. The questions were posed by a local resident concerned about why lawmakers are so obsessed with legislating people’s gender and sexual orientation.
Woods surprisingly responded bluntly without the political doubletalk one might expect.
“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.
Judging from the applause, Woods’ remarks struck a chord among his Republican base.
Judging from the horrified reaction from Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, he would have preferred Woods’ remarks had gone unsaid.
Three days later, Treat released a statement calling the remarks “reprehensible and inappropriate,” Oklahoma Voice reporter Barbara Hoberock reported.
“His remarks were not in any way reflective of myself, the Senate Republican caucus, Senate leadership or the Senate overall,” Treat said. “In my opinion, he had a serious lapse of judgment and it has distracted from the mission and good work we are attempting to advance on behalf of all Oklahomans.”
Treat said all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Woods then doubled down, saying he stands by his beliefs. He pointed to his voting record. He said he supported laws blocking gender-affirming care for minors and prohibiting transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams. Woods said Friday that he didn’t vote on legislation to ban transgender sports participation because he hadn’t been elected yet, but said he campaigned on the issue when running for office the same year.
Funny thing: Treat didn’t point to his voting record.
As it turns out, Treat voted in favor of both of those measures, legislative records show. So did the vast majority of the Senate’s Republican caucus.
Then less than a day after Treat’s rebuke, Woods inexplicably was one of the lawmakers permitted to stand behind Treat, Gov. Kevin Stitt and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, at a high-profile bill signing celebrating the end of Oklahoma’s grocery tax.
Here’s the deal. Republicans can’t have it both ways.
They can’t pretend to be horrified in public about hateful rhetoric, but at the same time file and rubber stamp legislation that harms LGBTQ+ residents. They can’t be issuing rebukes and then just hours later reward offensive behavior by allowing legislators to participate in much happier occasions as if all is forgiven.
To do so sends a mixed message not only to Woods, but to all Oklahomans who are looking to their elected officials for guidance.
It also makes it appear that they’re fine making Woods out to be a public scapegoat even as they try to hide their own intolerances.
One wonders if some Republican lawmakers are truly annoyed at Woods not because of what he said, but because his saying it generated considerable national backlash and painted Oklahoma in a horrendously bad light.
After all, Woods has seemingly faced no real ramifications in the Senate for his words.
Other lawmakers in the past have been reprimanded for making disparaging comments about Black people and women, interrupting a pastor or making remarks viewed as threatening. A female senator was censured in 2021 for making disparaging comments about her fellow senators. A male senator lost privileges for lewd comments about Kamala Harris.
Our state’s LGBTQ+ residents, though, continue to face ramifications based on lawmakers’ actions over the past few years.
The ACLU is tracking 54 Oklahoma bills it classifies as anti-LGBTQ+ that range from forcing schools to out students to prohibiting state agencies from displaying the pride flag.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma youth can no longer access gender-affirming care.
Children have restrictions on the school bathrooms they can use.
Women and girls, regardless of whether they identify as LGBTQ+, now have to worry that some creepy guy is going to try to police whether they belong in a bathroom.
More: Nex Benedict didn't deserve to die. Can we reverse course and save the next child's life?
And then we’ve got Nex Benedict. The 16-year-old nonbinary Owasso High School student died a day after a fight in a school bathroom. Benedict’s family reported they were bullied for their sexual orientation. Some Oklahomans have also blamed anti-transgender policies and messaging from state officials.
The past few weeks have highlighted some ugly truths about our tolerance for our LGBTQ+ neighbors. Oklahomans have been portrayed as a bunch of intolerant bozos.
More: The world Nex Benedict deserved isn't hard to create. It just takes love and respect.
We’re at a crossroads here.
It’s time for lawmakers to decide.
Do we support hate and legislation that further harms marginalized people who have always lived in the state?
Or do we actually believe that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect?
Because if we do, we’re not showing it well right now.
And if we truly love our neighbors as ourselves, then it’s time to let our actions speak louder than our words.
Talk is cheap.
And Oklahomans are looking to lawmakers to decide whether they want to put up or shut up.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@oklahomavoice.com. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma GOP condemned Sen. Woods' remarks, but is he a scapegoat?
