State legislator Mike Reynolds is an Air Force veteran. He’s also a Southern Baptist, which shouldn’t matter at all because he is a politician and not a preacher. But invariably the opposition to gay rights comes from a religious motivation.

Not this time though. Apparently Mike Reynolds is motivated because some troops asked him to re-instate the policy.

Tulsa World has the story:

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill being proposed by a state lawmaker would reinstitute the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the Oklahoma National Guard. “That’s exactly what it does,” said Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, author of House Bill 2195. The bill is being proposed in response to requests from members of the Oklahoma National Guard, Reynolds said. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, implemented by federal law in 1993, barred gays from serving openly in the U.S. military. The policy ended Sept. 20 after President Barack Obama, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff certified that repeal would not harm military readiness. (more)

Mike Reynolds is on a crusade against discrimination!

I’ve seen this story picked up in a few other markets. But I don’t think any of them have realized one juicy bit of irony. Mike Rep is the author of HB 1001, known as the “Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act”.

…They contend the point of their bill, according to news reports, is to prevent religious discrimination in schools, although it apparently doesn’t matter such discrimination, if it exists, has not surfaced as a major issue. The bill would allow students to express religious views at school and in assignments without penalty. It would allow religious groups the same access to school facilities as secular groups. School speakers could not be discriminated against for expressing religious views…

Cute. He stands up for and ‘against’ discrimination.

That Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act passed the first vote, but I don’t think it survived a Governor’s veto (this bill seems to pop up every year). The DADT issue is still a bit of new territory.

The good news is Mike Reynolds is term-limited to 2014. Let’s hope his political career ends there. Perhaps he can go back to work elsewhere. Did I mention that he’s an Ordained Deacon and member of the evangelical Southern Hills Baptist Church?