Freedom Oklahoma

Freedom Oklahoma
	The Freedom Oklahoma logo
	U.S. State of Oklahoma
Founded	2015
Merger of	Cimarron Alliance Equality Center and The Equality Network
Location	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ;
Area served	Oklahoma
Website	www.freedomoklahoma.org

Last updated August 06, 2019

Freedom Oklahoma is a statewide political advocacy organization in Oklahoma that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage.

Oklahoma is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, Texas on the south and west, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. It is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the fifty United States. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning "red people". It is also known informally by its nickname, "The Sooner State", in reference to the non-Native settlers who staked their claims on land before the official opening date of lands in the western Oklahoma Territory or before the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889, which dramatically increased European-American settlement in the eastern Indian Territory. Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged into the State of Oklahoma when it became the 46th state to enter the union on November 16, 1907. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

A lesbian is a homosexual woman. The word lesbian is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term was originally used to mean "carefree", "cheerful", or "bright and showy".

History

Freedom Oklahoma was formed in 2015 with the merger of Cimarron Alliance Equality Center and The Equality Network.^[1]^[2]^[3] Cimarron Alliance's executive director at the time of the merger, Troy Stevenson, became the executive director of the new organization.^[1]

The Cimarron Alliance Foundation was a 501(c)(3) educational organization dedicated to advocacy for Oklahoma’s LGBT citizens. Its mission was “to support educational efforts that increase personal self-esteem, promote public enlightenment and advance equality for LGBT Oklahomans".

Activities

Freedom Oklahoma is organizing efforts to defeat legislations considered harmful to the state's LGBT community, and promote positive LGBT legislation.^[1]^[3] The organization also supports same-sex marriage.^[4]

The LGBT community or GLBT community, also referred to as the gay community, is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, LGBT organizations, and subcultures, united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBT activists and sociologists see LGBT community-building as a counterbalance to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride is used to express the LGBT community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBT community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBT community.

The organization's Equality Run promotes the organization's work and raises funds to support the organization.^[2]

The organization is a member of the Equality Federation.^[5]

Equality Federation is a social justice, advocacy and capacity building organization serving and supporting state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organizations in the United States.

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References

1 2 3 "Freedom Oklahoma". Freedom Oklahoma. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
1 2 Shelden, Darla (May 30, 2015). "3rd annual Equality Run set for June 20 benefitting Freedom Oklahoma". city-sentinel.com. The City Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
1 2 Rangel, Leslie (January 26, 2015). "Freedom Oklahoma: Oklahoma's LGBT community is under attack". KFOR.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
↑ Stecklein, Janelle (June 16, 2015). "Column: Gay marriage advocates anticipate court's decision". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
↑ "Member Organizations". Equality Federation. Retrieved June 18, 2015.

External links

Official website

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[freeok-1] 1 2 3 "Freedom Oklahoma". Freedom Oklahoma. Retrieved 2015-06-18.

[tcs515-2] 1 2 Shelden, Darla (May 30, 2015). "3rd annual Equality Run set for June 20 benefitting Freedom Oklahoma". city-sentinel.com. The City Sentinel. Retrieved 2015-06-18.

[kfor115-3] 1 2 Rangel, Leslie (January 26, 2015). "Freedom Oklahoma: Oklahoma's LGBT community is under attack". KFOR.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.

[tds615-4] Stecklein, Janelle (June 16, 2015). "Column: Gay marriage advocates anticipate court's decision". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2015-06-18.

[eqfed-members-5] "Member Organizations". Equality Federation. Retrieved June 18, 2015.