Source: KOCO TV, Oklahoman

Kern's anti-gay rant

Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, never made it past a checkpoint, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesman said. The lawmaker was asked to return to her vehicle and secure the weapon, which she did, KOCO TV reports.

"As soon as my purse went through the scanner and the uh, gentleman there said, 'Representive Kern,' I went, 'Aw, I forgot!'" she said.

Kern told KOCO's Eyewitness News 5 that she merely forgot to leave the weapon behind. She said she got out of her car quickly to catch up with a colleague. The weapon was in her purse, she said, and was detected by an X-ray machine.

Capt. Chris West of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol told The Oklahoman that Kern was asked to secure her weapon outside when guards discovered that she had a weapon in her purse.

"I'm out of the habit of being at the Capitol, had a meeting at 10 a.m.," Kern said.

She put her purse on the security machine that X-rays purses and other bags of people coming into the Capitol. That's when the gun was discovered.

She has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, West said.

KOCO reports that the incident Wednesday is the second time in two months that Kern has been stopped with a weapon at the Capitol. In early June, troopers said, Kern breached security and entered the Capitol with a weapon.

When Kern realized she had the gun, she said, she came down to make troopers aware that she had it. Troopers said there was never a breach of security, however, on Wednesday.

Of the June incident, Kern said her purse was being scanned by X-ray right as she dropped clothes that she was carrying. As the security attendant helped Kern with that, her purse made it through undetected.

She stressed that in both cases it was merely a matter of forgetting that she had the weapon, KOCO reports.

Full article: Okla. Lawmaker Kern Stopped At Capitol With Gun | KOCO TV
 Kern stopped from carrying gun into Capitol | Oklahoman