On Friday evening, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed two bills that undermine religious freedom: SB 1140, which allows state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to use religion to justify denying children homes and discriminating against prospective parents, and HB 2177, which authorizes every government building and public school to display the Ten Commandments.
Americans United Denounces Oklahoma Gov. Fallin’s Signing Of SB 1140, A Discriminatory Adoption Bill
Oklahoma Gov. Fallin Should Listen to Faith Leaders And Advocates Who Say: Put Kids First
Oklahoma’s state legislature recently passed a bill, SB 1140, that would allow state-funded child-placing agencies to use religion to justify denying children homes and discriminating against prospective parents. This bill allows foster care and adoption agencies to refuse to perform, assist or participate in any child placement in the name of religion. So that means religious child placement agencies could turn away prospective parents who want to provide kids with a loving, stable home because they’re a same-sex couple, interfaith, previously divorced, or the “wrong religion.”
In the Last Moments Of Their Legislative Sessions, Kansas And Oklahoma Put Religious Discrimination Ahead Of Kids
State legislatures in both Kansas and Oklahoma passed bills last Thursday (Senate Bill 284 in Kansas and Senate Bill 1140 in Oklahoma) that would allow state-funded child-placing agencies to use religion to justify denying children homes and discriminating against prospective parents.
Oklahoma Adoption Agencies Should Focus On Children And Reject Discrimination
Tomorrow, an Oklahoma House committee will take up Senate Bill 1140, a bill that would allow taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care entities to deny kids good homes in the name of religion.
Harming Religious Freedom: For Some Oklahoma Senators, It’s As Easy As 1, 2, 3
Oklahoma's SB 197, a "religious freedom" bill, passed out of the Oklahoma Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, along with two other extreme bills. This post from AU's Wall of Separation blog explains why this SB 197 and another bill that seeks to violate church-state separation are so dangerous.
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of The 2016 State Sessions, Part 2: The Bad And The Ugly
In part 1, we recapped the good— the harmful bills that were stopped. In today’s post, we cover the bad and the ugly of the 2016 state legislative sessions.
Oklahoma's Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill Is Effectively Dead
Oklahoma Senate Committee Passes Anti-LGBT Bathroom Bill That Allows For Religious Accommodations
Last week, we wrote about Oklahoma's SB 1619, one of a growing number of "bathroom bills" inspired by North Carolina's infamous HB 2. The very same day, Oklahoma's Senate Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget voted to approve the bill, sending it to the Senate floor for a vote.
Oklahoma Introduces Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Bill" That Uses Religion To Discriminate
Ever since North Carolina passed the infamous HB 2, which prohibits transgender individuals from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity, we’ve heard a lot about so-called "bathroom bills." This week, Oklahoma got in on the act by proposing SB 1619, the first of these bills to raise religion issues.
Last Week In Review: April 18–22
Oklahoma Introduced The Most Anti-LGBT Bills In The Country
Sense-Free Zone: Okla. Gun Range Owners Face Lawsuit For Turning Muslim Customer Away
Arkansas “patriot” Jan Morgan announced to the world two years ago that her gun range would no longer serve Muslim customers. At the time, I noted that her actions violated public accommodation law and that she would lose an inevitable lawsuit; that did not deter Morgan, and it did not deter a number of other gun-range owners from implementing the same policy.
Spotlight On: Four Anti-LGBT Bills In Oklahoma
Last session, the state of Texas had the distinction of being the state with the most anti-LGBT bills with over 20 pieces of legislation. Fortunately, each one of those bills was defeated. This session, that distinction of (dis)honor belongs to Oklahoma. Their session began this week, and they already have at least 26 anti-LGBT bills, including bills that include religious exemptions that could be used to discriminate. Here is a look at just four of those bills that we are closely tracking.
Legislative Preview: States Are Preparing for More RFRA Battles
As the states gear up to reconvene their legislative sessions after the New Year, we can expect to see many states pursuing Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) legislation. We often focus on states without state-level RFRAs that attempt to pass bills to create a new law; for example, last year both Indiana and Arkansas passed new RFRA legislation, and the sponsor of Georgia’s bill to create a RFRA has said he will introduce legislation in 2016. However, state legislative activity is not limited merely to creating new RFRA laws. Even in states that currently have RFRA laws, we anticipate that there will be increasing attempts to expand these state RFRAs.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Expands Custodial Rights For Same-Sex Parents
Oklahoma Gun Store Manager Declares Shop a "Muslim Free Establishment"
Oklahoma gun store manager Chad Neal decided to take his anti-Muslim zeal public by officially declaring Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear a "Muslim free establishment" [sic]. The policy was apparently in response to the July Chattanooga, Tennessee shootings at two military installations by Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez.