Oklahoma Says 'LGBT' Is 'Sexual In Nature'

WATCH: Oklahoma Says 'LGBT' Is 'Sexual In Nature'

A straight man in Oklahoma wanted a license plate declaring his status as an LGBT ally, but the state Tax Commission deemed the phrase inappropriate.

BY  Sunnivie Brydum

March 24 2015 5:25 PM ET 

 

A straight man in Oklahoma is prepared to take his fight to court after the state's Tax Commission rejected his application for a custom license plate proclaiming him an "LGBT ally," reports Oklahoma City TV station KFOR. 

John Keefe, who is married to a woman and has three children, first applied for the custom license plate bearing the letters "LGBTALY" in December. When he didn't hear back after filing his application, Keefe said he thought the application had been lost. 

But then Keefe received a letter from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the agency responsible for issuing license plates in the state. That letter denied Keefe's request, because the state agency deemed the message "carries a sexual connotation," which is against commission rules, according to KFOR. 

"I was shocked and I was dismayed at the prejudice and the discrimination, the uneducated and fearful bigotry shown by the Oklahoma Tax Commission in the 21st Century," Keefe told the station. 

Frustrated by the Tax Commission's decision — and the litany of anti-LGBT legislation proposed (and subsequently defeated) in Oklahoma's last legislative session — Keefe has retained a lawyer and plans to fight the commission's denial, arguing that the message on his license plate is a matter of free speech. 

"I think when the Tax Commission hears evidence and information from persons who study and teach and research in these areas, when they hear from them and realize that it is more of a social, political term, then they'll change their minds," Charles L. Broadway, Keefe's attorney, told KFOR. The case is moving forward, and will likely be heard before a judge by the end of the summer, according to KFOR. 

Watch the local report below: