This week legislators have been working on amendments with little time spent on the floor. Thursday the seemingly only bill on the House agenda was HB 1775 which bans higher education from conducting race-based or sexual diversity training. This bill does not allow schools to teach that systems in America are historically rooted in the oppression of black people and other marginalized groups. It denies the existence of implicit (also known as unconscious) bias, which has been proven over and over again through research studies by highly respected institutions. There is a Harvard implicit bias test you can take here online for free. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
Having implicit bias is not a character failing. It doesn’t make you a bad person. It is unconscious, and it is not only white people who have it. We all do regardless of age, sex, or skin color. This bill is rooted in a lack of understanding of what implicit bias is, and the fear of facing the truth and its implications. If we acknowledge uncomfortable truths, then the ball is in our court to deal with them. Let’s be brave. Let’s deal with them. Let’s stop making decisions out of fear and start making laws that will build an Oklahoma deserving of future generations.
The Governor signing HB 2774, legislation that will require Oklahoma law enforcement to comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requests.
Governor Stitt signed HB 2095, a bill that adds unlawful assembly (read protesting) to Oklahoma’s Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. This legislation potentially makes exercising your constitutional right of free speech and assembly a felony.
SB 646 Allowing people to carry weapons into a restaurant with a bar or a liquor store was signed by the governor this week as well.
The House Bill 1198 solidifying new state house districts is making its way through the legislative process passing out of committee unanimously. It now heads to the floor for approval. Here is the link to see the new districts and the process of redrawing https://www.okhouse.gov/publications/redistricting.aspx
Here is a report on the bills we are following and where they are in the legislative process.