> Thought you might find this item interesting. > > > > Copyright 2000 The Saturday Oklahoman > THE SATURDAY OKLAHOMAN > > February 26, 2000, Saturday CITY EDITION > >HEADLINE: Professor's letter draws ire > >BYLINE: Ed Godfrey, Staff Writer > > An official with a student organization has filed a >sexual harassment complaint against a University of Oklahoma >professor who wrote a letter to the campus newspaper comparing a >vagina to a handgun. > > Advocates for Sexual Assault Awareness in Norman issued a news >release Friday condemning David Deming's comments and equated them >to sexual harassment. > > The organization is affiliated with the United Ministry Center >in Norman. Center Director Becky Hebert said she filed a sexual >harassment complaint against Deming with OU's Equal Opportunity and >Affirmative Action office. > > Deming, an associate professor of geology and geophysics, Friday >said he doesn't regret writing even though it outraged some women >on campus. > > "I suppose a lot of people were offended, but I was offended to >begin with," Deming said. > > Deming's letter was published in Monday's edition of The >Oklahoma Daily. He was responding to an article published Feb. 18 >in the newspaper and written by Yale Daily News columnist Joni >Kletter. > > Advocating stricter gun control laws, Kletter wrote "easy access >to a handgun allows everyone in this country, including criminals, >youth and the mentally disabled, to quickly and easily kill as many >random people as they want." > > Deming, a gun owner and member of the National Rifle >Association, said he was "very insulted" by the column. He >responded by writing that "Kletter's easy access to a vagina >enables her to quickly and easily have sex with as many random >people as she wants." > > He also wrote that Kletter's "possession of an unregistered >vagina also equips her to work as a prostitute and spread venereal >diseases." > > Deming said he was attempting to show that "my gun no more makes >me a killer than her vagina makes her an immoral person." > > Hebert said she is aware of at least six written complaints >against Deming. > > "Having my vagina equated with a handgun is degrading, and for >this to go unaddressed by the university is demoralizing," she said. > > OU arts and sciences senior Lauren Avery said, "It was >unnecessary for Deming to take an argument concerning gun control >and turn it into an argument against women's sexuality." > > Hebert wants the university to reprimand Deming and require him >to receive sensitivity training on women's issues. She thinks >Deming should be fired if he has made similar comments in the >classroom. > > Deming said his comments were political opinion and not sexual >harassment. Those who have filed complaints have "no more respect >for the First Amendment than they do the Second," he said. > > "On the lighter side, I'm glad that somebody on campus is >finally excited about something." >
