Good news, Oklahoma! All 27 of the discriminatory and anti-LGBT bills proposed by members of this year’s Legislature failed.
State House and Senate branches refused to advance any of the proposals, meaning they’re dead for this legislative session.
“We have seen a truly unprecedented level of community advocacy this legislative session, and fair-minded legislators — both Republicans and Democrats — have listened,” said Troy Stevenson, Freedom Oklahoma executive director, in a media statement. “It is our greatest hope that going forward we will be fighting for positive change rather than fighting back against discrimination. But no matter what, we will keep fighting until every Oklahoman is equal under the law and in every walk of life.”
One bill wanted to make people prove what sex was listed on their birth certificates before they could use gender-specific restrooms. Another would have banned school employees from counseling any student about “human sexuality” without notifying parents first. Yet another would have legalized “conversion therapy” for minors, a practice widely condemned as quackery.
That any member of the Legislature believed it was a good idea to waste so much time and taxpayer money to clog up the lawmaking process with these civil rights-violating duds is shocking.
That their peers and Oklahoma residents condemned these lawmakers for their actions, though, is life-affirming. High five, Oklahoma. Have a drink. Celebrate. Then get your rest. There’s an election in November, and we need you for that, too.
Print headline: Last gasps
