The second session of the 51st Oklahoma Legislature ended on May 23. Like many sessions before, many appropriation bills were passed and little policy was made. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma had great hopes for this legislative session; it was our mission to be proactive and support bills that preserved civil liberties. Senator Harry Coates, R- Seminole, introduced a bill that would have repealed the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act or more commonly known as 1804. Representative Mike Shelton introduced HB 2865, a bill that would notify individuals when their right to vote has been restored. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, these two bills never made it out of committee.

We were informed before the session even began that Representative Randy Terrill, author of 1804, planned to introduce “The Son of 1804.” This extension of 1804 would have denied birthright citizenship to children born to undocumented individuals, seized property of anyone who violated 1804, and made English the official language. Fortunately, Terrill did not get very far in his mission. The only portion of his bill to gain momentum was English Only.

SB 163 proposed to make English the official language of Oklahoma. It would prohibit any state agency from printing any material in a different language or providing translator for those with difficulties speaking English. A heated debate ensued during the hearings, and Rep. Guy Leibmann, R-Oklahoma City, chairman of the House Government and Transportation Committee, refused to hear public comments on the bill. Cherokee National Principal Chief Chad Smith exercised his right to speak but was gaveled to be quiet. Many opponents of SB 163 were shocked at the blatant disrespect shown toward Chief Smith and the brazen disregard for the common practice to allow the public comment on bills. SB 163 was overwhelmingly approved in the House and set to go to vote of the people at the November election. However, the Senate refused to approve the House amendments and the sent the bill to committee where it later died pursuant to the rules.

After the United States Supreme Court held that Indiana could require identification in order to vote, Senator John Ford, R-Bartlesville, introduced a bill that would require the same. SB 1150 would have required voters to provide some type of identification to vote. Even though the Supreme Court had upheld such a requirement days earlier, we strongly opposed such a measure. We argued that an ID requirement would have disenfranchised many eligible voters. Oklahoma had no evidence that organized voter fraud existed to even need such requirement. When the state requires a person to show proof of identity, it essentially is requiring a person to pay to vote. We reached out to our members urging them to contact their elected representatives. The partisan bill was defeated in the Senate.

Our biggest defeat came in the form of SB 1878, authored by Senator Todd Lamb, R-Edmond. SB 1878, the Freedom of Conscience Act, initially permitted health care employees to refuse to provide certain forms of health care without ensuring that patients could access the same health care services elsewhere. This bill later became a dumping ground for all the abortion bills introduced during the session that were unable to make it out of committee. The employee opt-out provision remained, but also required a sign to be placed in all abortion facilities stating that no person can force you to have an abortion. It also required that only a doctor prescribe an unnecessarily higher dose of a portion of mifepristone (RU-486), and made mandatory an ultrasound and description of the fetus one hour before the termination.

The ACLU of Oklahoma strongly opposed this bill and urged members to contact their elected officials. The affiliate along with other pro-choice advocates lobbied the governor to veto SB 1878 as well as members of the Senate to sustain the possible veto. We were confident that if Governor Brad Henry vetoed the bill, we would have enough votes in the Senate to sustain the veto. We were joyful when Henry vetoed this bill in the evening; however, our excitement was short-lived. By the time session had begun the very next morning, both houses had overridden Henry’s veto. We were outraged with the complete disregard of additional trauma this bill caused to those who decide to exercise their constitutional right.

While we are always of the mind-set that it could have been worse, we are grateful for the anti-civil liberty bills that failed. We are concerned with the continued erosion of a women’s right to choose in Oklahoma. In the last two legislative sessions, Oklahoma legislators have passed an omnibus anti-choice bill. We hope this growing trend does not continue, but we will stay vigilant to preserve the right to choose. We will continue to work diligently to support pro civil liberty bills instead of always having to oppose those bills that erode civil liberties.