OCPA to engage in court effort protecting child sex-change surgery ban

OCPA to engage in court effort protecting child sex-change surgery ban

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 2, 2023)—Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small announced today that OCPA will be organizing a coalition of groups and individuals for the purpose of defending a new state law that prevents children from undergoing sex-reassignment surgeries, cross-sex hormones, or puberty blockers before age 18.

Small: Straight-party voting a cop-out for losing candidates

Straight-party voting a cop-out for losing candidates

By Jonathan Small

Following this month’s election results, some officials claim straight-party voting is a major problem in Oklahoma. They imply many Oklahomans really wanted to vote for candidates from the other party but instead simply checked the straight-party option. Some Democrats suggest their failure in top-of-the-ballot races are a byproduct of straight-party ballots.

That’s believable only if you ignore common sense. The most high-profile race in Oklahoma this year was the governor’s race. It was literally the top spot on the ballot. Are we to believe voters really wanted to vote for Democratic candidate Joy Hofmeister rather than Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt (or vice versa) but instead checked the straight-party box and never looked a few inches down their ballots?

State Rep files bill for statewide vote on abolishing the death penalty

Turner Files Bill to Give Power to People on Death Penalty

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Mauree Turner, D-OKC, has filed legislation for the 2022 Legislative Session that would create a state question on whether the death penalty should exist in Oklahoma.

While Oklahomans have previously supported the death penalty in ballot initiatives, the inhumane conditions of death row, botched executions, and exposure of the racism and error rate in guilty verdicts have given many reasons to grapple with what it means for a small number of state actors to have the power to decide who lives and who dies an often torturous death, especially in the face of exclusionary evidence. 

“What I am hearing from my district, and people around the state, is an urgent need to end state-enacted murder in the name of a criminal legal system that seeks to kill people with impunity,” Turner said. “We have seen a growing movement, in the last year especially, of people calling for Oklahoma to abolish the death penalty. And I want to give people a chance to express that on the ballot.”

A national poll of police chiefs by the Death Penalty Information Center showed that the nation’s police chiefs rank the death penalty last for effective crime reduction. 

“The officers do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to murder, and they rate it as one of most inefficient uses of taxpayer dollars in fighting crime,” the Death Penalty Information Center report read. “Criminologists concur that the death penalty does not effectively reduce the number of murders.”

FBI statistics, which show states with the death penalty have a higher murder rate than those without capital punishment, support these expert opinions. Oklahoma’s murder rate is the 11th highest in the nation, according to the most recent CDC data. 

Turner opposes capital punishment and knows that Oklahomans have a broad range of views and experiences, which is why [she]* want[s] to give the people another opportunity to use their voice. 

Medical orgs, left-wing political groups plan rally to support Medicaid expansion

A coalition of medical organizations and left-wing activist groups (including Planned Parenthood) is planning a rally at the State Capitol on April 24th to support Medicaid expansion:

COALITION TO EXPAND COVERAGE HOSTS RALLY AT STATE CAPITOL WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 10 A.M.

TULSA, OK — A broad coalition of Oklahomans are holding a rally day at the state Capitol to call on lawmakers to expand health coverage for more than 100,000 currently uninsured Oklahomans. This coverage expansion can be paid for using 90 percent federal dollars.

The rally is set for Wednesday, April 24 at 10 a.m. It will focus on Oklahoma’s opportunity to extend SoonerCare or private health coverage to Oklahomans making below the poverty level. Free buses to the rally will be available from cities across the state.

“Expanding care will help ensure that over 100,000 Oklahomans have access to the care they need while boosting hospitals and other health care providers in our communities across the state,” said Carly Putnam, Policy Director of Oklahoma Policy Institute, a state policy organization that is coordinating the rally. “It’s time we brought Oklahomans’ tax dollars back home to take care of Oklahomans.”

The rally is organized by the Coalition to Expand Coverage, a broad coalition of Oklahoma groups and individuals, including Oklahoma Policy Institute, Together Oklahoma, ACLU of Oklahoma, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Heart Association, CAIR Oklahoma, Coalition of Oklahoma Breastfeeding Advocates, E.B Consulting OKC, Evolution Foundation, Family & Children’s Services, Fellowship Congregational Church UCC, Guiding Right, Inc., Indivisible Stillwater, Improving Lives, Inc, League of Women Voters of Oklahoma, Mental Health Association Oklahoma, Morton Comprehensive Health Services, NAACP Oklahoma City, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Psoriasis Foundation, NASW Oklahoma Chapter, O.B. Hearne DDS, Oklahoma AFL-CIO, Oklahoma Conference of Churches, Oklahoma Heart Association, Oklahoma Hospital Association, Oklahoma Lawyers for Children, Oklahoma Primary Care Association, Oklahoma State Conference NAACP, Oklahoma State Medical Association, Oklahoma Women’s Coalition, Planned Parenthood Great Plains, Potts Family Foundation, Rock Whisperer LLC, St. John Health System, Take Control Initiative, TARC, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Oklahoma Academy, and Tulsa CARES. Additional members are joining the coalition on an ongoing basis.

“If we don’t expand coverage, Oklahoma will only fall further behind in health and economic competitiveness,” said Sabine Brown, outreach and advocacy coordinator for Oklahoma Policy Institute and Together Oklahoma. “All Oklahomans are invited to join this effort to make sure we can all see a doctor and get treatment when we need it.” To get information as it's released, learn more about the campaign, or sign on to the coalition, visit coverok.org.

Pastor Ledbetter responds to devotional backlash

Pastor Bill Ledbetter of Durant's Fairview Baptist Church was recently the chaplain of the week in the Oklahoma State Senate, and attracted some controversy from complaints by Democrat senators and groups like the ACLU over his devotional delivered on March 1st. The following letter is his response to the dust-up:

Does God judge nations? Recently, while serving as Chaplain of the Week in the Oklahoma Senate I posed this question. I was deeply grieved to learn that some people misunderstood my heart. Knowing if a man does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, I can plainly say I am not a perfect man. Perhaps I could have spoken with greater clarity.

I spoke of the love of God who gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as a payment for our sins, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. I taught the Bible truth that God is unchanging. And considering the quick succession of many cataclysmic, tragic events in recent months, I posed the question, could God be speaking to America in a judging manner?

Any discussion of God’s judgment must begin with the Biblical truth that God loves us and derives no pleasure in judgment, but patiently waits for us to turn to Him.

God blesses nations (Psalm 33:12). Uniquely, America traces her roots to Christianity; not that Christianity is our national religion, nor is anyone compelled to be a Christian, but that the principles of Christianity shaped our foundations. Second President of the United States, John Adams said, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were. . . . the general principles of Christianity.” And God has blessed America like no other nation in history.

My pastoral role is not to offer my opinion, but to speak God’s Word, and the clear Bible answer is, “Yes,” God judges nations (Jeremiah 18:7-10], not for this or that sin or a hot button sin, but because they reject Him, worship other gods, embrace false forms of ideology, and wallow in immorality and sin. God is not speaking to this or that group, but to all of us.

He may withdraw His restraining grace (Romans 1:18-32). He may allow adverse circumstances, or cataclysmic events (Numbers 16:1-33; Job 37:11-13], to turn us back to Him.

Is God judging America? For years we have systematically dismantled our Judeo-Christian foundations in favor of secularism and moral relativism [beliefs that reflect the culture and personal preference as opposed to God’s truth, the Bible]. We no longer pray in Jesus’ name or study the Bible in our schools. We have removed the Ten Commandments from our schools and many other places throughout the country. We call right wrong and wrong right.

My heart aches that some, not all, but some were offended. But, the consistent message is that God loves you and if God is judging or correcting America it is for the purpose, remember, of drawing us back to Him.

Pastor Bill Ledbetter
Fairview Baptist Church in Durant, OK

I know Pastor Ledbetter, and he is one of the kindest, most mild-mannered individuals you will ever meet. His prime sin in the eyes of secular society is that he truly believes the inspired Word of God, and preaches its unvarnished truth without apology or compromise.

Secular society doesn't mind if a person affiliates as a Christian, but if you actually believe the Bible, apply it to your life, and proclaim it unashamedly, then they want your head delivered on a platter.

AG Pruitt Comments on Victory in Ten Commandments Monument Lawsuit

AG Pruitt Comments on Victory in Ten Commandments Monument Lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Scott Pruitt on Friday commented on Oklahoma’s victory in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU challenging a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol.

“Today’s ruling is a clear message that the Ten Commandments can be displayed on public grounds like the Oklahoma Capitol because of the historical role the text has played in the founding of our nation. The Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds is constitutional because of its historical value. The U.S. Supreme Court found constitutional a nearly identical monument in Texas. We were confident in the state’s case from the start and appreciate the court’s thoughtful consideration and ruling in the state’s favor,” Attorney General Pruitt said.

An Oklahoma County judge Friday granted Oklahoma’s motion for summary judgment and ruled the monument was constitutional.

In Van Orden v. Perry, the U.S. Supreme Court found constitutional a nearly identical Ten Commandments monument in Texas based on the historical value of the text on the monument. The Oklahoma Ten Commandments monument was based on the Texas monument.