Well, this is interesting.

The Oklahoma legislature has passed a bill that would allow ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft to operate in the state. Given how severely those companies have upended the taxi industry’s status quo in other parts of the world, the legislation might seem pretty progressive for a red state like Oklahoma.

But it’s not all forward movement. Legislators passed the bill after stripping a clause that would have shielded LGBT riders from discrimination:

“The House-passed version of the bill included language that prohibited the companies from discriminating against customers based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But Sen. Jason Smalley said he rewrote the bill to eliminate that language and allow private businesses to establish their own policies regarding discrimination.

“‘I believe if a private business owner wants to serve or not serve an individual, they have that purview right now,’ said Smalley, a Republican.”

That’s not a shocking position for a guy like Smalley to take. As usual, though, we have to wonder if he’d be okay with businesses discriminating against whites or Christians or men if they weren’t already legally prevented from doing so. We also have to wonder if his electorate would feel the same.

To me, the only shocking thing is that this bill passed the House of Representatives with LGBT protections intact, despite the chamber serving as home base to one of America’s preeminent homophobes, Sally Kern.

[h/t John Voelcker]