During a legislative debate in April 2011, Kern stated, "Is this just because they are black that they are in prison, or could it be because they didn't want to work hard in school. I taught school for 20 years and I saw a lot of people of color that didn't want to work as hard. They wanted it given to them." Kern also said the reason that women earn less money is because they "tend to think more about their family, wanting to stay at home more, wanting to be with their family, have more leisure time."
In 2008, Kern compared homosexuality to terrorism, saying, "I honestly think it's the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat, okay?" In June 2009, Kern, along with other legislators, civic and religious leaders, announced they would gather at the State Capitol to sign the Oklahoma Citizens Proclamation for Morality. The proclamation criticized gay pride festivals, stating, "Whereas, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior."