Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern voted in favor of her own reprimand on the house floor Monday, after making controversial statements about women and people of color in relation to an affirmative action bill last week.
Kern, who made headlines in 2008 when she was caught making an antigay tirade onstage at a private event, delivered a tearful apology on the house floor Monday, according to the Associated Press.
"That was not my intent, but sadly it happened, and I take full responsibility for it and I'm truly sorry," she said, according to the article. "While my words were not expressed well and implied things I did not mean, they were not spoken with any contempt or malice."
The house then voted 76-16 in favor of a formal reprimand of the Oklahoma City Republican.
While debating whether the state should end its affirmative action initiatives last week, Kern said minorities “earn less than white people because they don’t work as hard and have less initiative.” She added, “We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”
The lawmaker also said that women demonstrated a weaker work ethic than men because women preferred to spend time at home with their families.
The state chapters of the Democratic Party and the NAACP have both called for Kern to resign.
