Senate passes bill to allow foraging on state-owned lands

Senate unanimously approves Boren’s foraging bill

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, won unanimous Senate support for Senate Bill 447 to allow foraging for nuts, edible plants and fungi on state-owned or state-managed property. Boren said she didn’t even know it was against the law until a family member brought the situation to light.

“My mother-in-law and mother were on state property, and they picked up a few pecans on their outing but were scolded by a state park ranger who told her it was illegal. Even if you are out hunting, if you pick up a single mushroom, technically, that’s against the law,” Boren said. “My legislation makes it legal for people to forage for nuts, edible plants or fungi on state property.”

Sen. Boren applauds bipartisan effort to raise precinct official pay; encourages Oklahomans to apply for jobs

Sen. Boren applauds bipartisan effort to raise precinct official pay; encourages Oklahomans to apply for jobs

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 17th) – Sen. Mary Boren said legislation that took effect July 1 doubling precinct official pay will not only help address poll worker shortages seen in recent years, but also points to the positive impact of bipartisan efforts to address pressing issues facing the state. Boren was a co-author to her colleague Sen. Warren Hamilton’s Senate Bill 290, which was approved during the 2023 legislative session.

State Sen. Boren requests audit of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority

Boren requests audit of Oklahoma Turnpike Authority

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Mary Boren has authored and filed Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 directing the State Auditor to audit the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA). This comes after recent news reports that the OTA is moving forward with plans to begin work on a controversial toll road expansion, including purchasing properties, after learning a $200 million line of credit cannot be used for the project because of pending lawsuits.

Sen. Boren, Cleveland County residents voice outrage over proposed turnpike expansion

Sen. Boren and other Cleveland County residents voice outrage over proposed turnpike expansion

OKLAHOMA CITY – At a press conference Wednesday, Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, was joined by other Cleveland County residents in sharing their outrage over the planned expansion of Oklahoma’s turnpike system that threatens the home and property of hundreds, the only location of a rare rock and a sanctuary for injured and orphaned wildlife. 

Boren pointed out the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s (OTA) concern for local residents seems to decrease with every major project. With the Kilpatrick Turnpike, OTA chose a path that took one house per mile, but with the Kickapoo Turnpike, the route took three houses per mile. The planned Cleveland County project would require the destruction of 16 houses per mile.         

“The Turnpike ACCESS Plan threatens hundreds of homeowners, landowners, and thousands of residents in my district. It’s my duty to amplify their voices at this critical time so that all Oklahomans can join us in persuading the governor and his appointees to the Turnpike Authority to change course and stop this lunacy,” Boren said. “Yesterday, it was homeowners and landowners in the Luther area who tragically lost their homes and businesses when the Kickapoo Turnpike was built. Today, the people of Cleveland County are in the crosshairs of the OTA. Tomorrow, it will be another community, unless the governor, state Legislature or the courts stops this proposed project.”                 

OU professor Dr. Amy Cerato explained that the proposed highway also runs through the only place Rose Rocks can be found in the world.

“Barite roses are distinctly Oklahoma. Our state rock since 1967, these exquisite natural wonders are found only one place on earth – in a thin band between Lake Stanley Draper and Noble. They are cherished by Oklahomans and mineral and rock enthusiasts from around the world,” Cerato said. “The citizens of Oklahoma, together with our elected officials, must hold the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority accountable in preserving this rare geological formation.”

The turnpike expansion would not only be devastating for area residents, but would also be catastrophic for WildCare, the state’s largest wildlife rehabilitation center and one of the largest in the nation, along with many endangered and threatened species in the area, according to Director Inger Giuffrida.

Pro-abortion Senate Dem accidentally hits on the regulatory flaw of "pro-life"

Here's the sad truth about abortion, and it took time for me to fully understand it: pro-life laws put abortion into statute. Let me say that again: abortion is law today because of pro-life laws.

There's a reason why Democrats tried to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate late last month to codify abortion into federal law (they failed). Roe v. Wade is not law. Roe v. Wade is not statute.

Pro-lifers have been motivated to save the lives of the unborn, but for decades, we've actually been putting into law the means by which the preborn are murdered. We're regulating babies to death.

Once you understand this fact, it really is eye-opening. I believe that most pro-lifers would agree that abortion is murder, that life begins at conception, and that the ultimate goal is to end abortion in all forms it takes. Thus, a truly and fully consistent pro-life position is that of the total and immediate abolition of abortion.

State Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) is a liberal, pro-abortion Democrat. She penned an op-ed in The Oklahoman recently, attacking pro-life 'Rose Day', and accidentally stumbling upon a hard truth about pro-life legislation: that pro-life laws are aimed at reduc[ing] abortion rates, instead of making them illegal or move them out of state.

She is accidentally right. If Roe were struck down today, abortion would still be legal in every state, because the when, where, and how of baby-murder is written into state laws by pro-life legislation. 

This is why legislatures everywhere should be advancing pure abolition bills: "An abolition bill does not regulate which preborn human beings are old enough to be protected by law – it outlaws abortion itself."

Here's Boren's column, which seems to have been removed from The Oklahoman last time I checked:

Viewpoint: Anti-abortion legislation should honor dignity, privacy of Oklahoma women

by Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman

Originally published in The Oklahoman, though now removed for some reason (cached copy)

Surely being an pro-life legislator is more than voting for abortion regulation laws and having your name read off a list on Rose Day each year.

Do I really have to vote for laws like Senate Bill 1167 and SB 1553 that track the menstruation cycles of women to be pro-life?

Last session, I introduced SB 138 to protect the education opportunity of pregnant students in Oklahoma. A large majority of Oklahoma’s private Christian colleges have requested federal waivers from the pregnancy protections contained in Title IX that apply to public colleges. Most “pro-life” colleges are places where an unmarried pregnant woman can lose her scholarships and college credits. SB 138 is a pro-life bill because it reduces the crisis in pregnant college students’ lives. But SB 138 does not aim to overturn Roe v. Wade, so it has not received a hearing.

Voters in my district have encouraged me to vote for laws that honor the life of the unborn, while also honoring the dignity, privacy and moral agency of women. These pro-life voters believe:

1. Pro-life laws humanize and honor the lives of the unborn for their whole lives.
2. Pro-life laws honor the life, privacy, dignity and moral agency of women.
3. Pro-life laws reduce abortion rates, instead of making them illegal or move them out of state.
4. Pro-life laws increase the likelihood that every pregnancy is welcomed and healthy by reducing the crisis in pregnant women’s lives so that they can carry their pregnancy to term.

Sadly, the agenda of Rose Day has narrowed over time to preserve political power by regulating abortions in ways that dehumanize pregnant women instead of removing the crisis in their lives, and this exploitive agenda pushes lawmakers like me out of their fellowship on Rose Day.

Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, represents the people living in District 16, which includes Norman, Noble, Lexington and Slaughterville in Cleveland County.

Here's the thing, Boren's definition of "pro-life" is not what most pro-lifers would agree with, but she stumbled on the regulatory nature of the pro-life movement. Instead, abortion must be abolished.