OkEq Independence Day Proclamation

I, Toby Jenkins, President of the Board of Directors and Advisors of Oklahomans for Equality, in order to commemorate this 233rd anniversary of our nation’s founding issue this proclamation acknowledging our ancestors as examples of true morality: 

Whereas, “The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for giving to Mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance”  (George Washington); and,

Whereas, The U.S. Constitution reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the freedom of press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”; and,

Whereas, the founding fathers so valued freedom they said  "All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution" (Thomas Jefferson); and,

Whereas, slavery stained our nation’s history, the enslaved told us “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” (Harriet Tubman); and, 

Whereas, the union entering a civil conflict to abolish those oppressions proclaims  “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves,”  and “The struggle of today is not altogether for today—it is for a vast future also”  (Abraham Lincoln); and,  

Whereas, our sisters recall “I have worked 40 years to make the Women’s Suffrage Platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now  I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon.” (Susan B. Anthony); and,

Whereas, those who struggled with impairments remind us that “The highest result of education is tolerance” (Helen Keller); and,

Whereas, generations have asked “Where do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination.” (Eleanor Roosevelt); and,

Now Therefore, be it resolved, that I call upon all justice loving individuals to remember “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” (Martin Luther King, Jr.); and,

Be it resolved, that we follow the example of those champions of liberty remembering “Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.” (Robert F. Kennedy); and,

We resolve to resist efforts to enshrine evil because "Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.. (Coretta Scott King); and,

We resolve we will not condone religion dividing us because “The fact is that more people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That my friends, is true perversion.” (Harvey Milk); and

Finally, acknowledging the gracious and kind act of our 44th elected President of these United States of America, Barack Obama, when he issued his Proclamation on June 1, 2009 and cited the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals to our great nation. 

We pledge ourselves to serve, support and defend our country during these difficult economic times. And we will seek solutions for prosperity rather than place blame on persons of a particular race, religion, political party, gender, or sexual orientation.

Toby Jenkins,

President of the Board of Directors and Advisors, Oklahomans for Equality

July 4, 2009