Gay rights supporters say Oklahoma is at the forefront of a wave of anti-gay legislation that is unfairly discriminatory and they plan to launch a campaign in the state to oppose more than a dozen bills introduced for the session that begins next week.
Some measures would give broad authority to businesses and corporations to discriminate against gay people. Others would ensure court clerks would not have to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Another would allow for so-called conversion therapy to help gay children end "unwanted sexual attraction."
The state's two largest gay rights groups announced a merger this week into a single group— Freedom Oklahoma — and its new director, Troy Stevenson, described some of the Republican-backed bills as the most far-reaching in the nation.
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