Story Created:
Mar 12, 2010 at 1:03 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Mar 12, 2010 at 1:03 PM CDT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge says he will not publicly admonish a member suspected of moving a portrait of President Obama that hangs in the House chamber.
Benge, R-Tulsa, did not identify the member suspected of moving the portrait and said the matter would be handled internally.
Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, expressed frustration that the portrait that hangs in the back of the chamber had been moved several times. Shelton, who is black, called it "the most childish thing he's ever seen."
Shelton also declined to identify which of his colleagues moved the photograph.
Benge said he believes the incident was not racially motivated but stems from the president's philosophy being "out of line with Oklahomans."
