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Oklahoma senate overwhelmingly votes to limit hate crime investigations
03/11/2010 by JR Russell
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Oklahoma State Senator Steve Russell (R-Oklahoma City) presented an amendment on Wednesday that changed a bill to would form a taskforce to study the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, and also inserted language that would make it optional for the state to share information on investigations into hate crimes.
It passed the senate with few questions 39-6 and will now go to the House.
Senator John Sparks (D-Norman) expressed concern that it will cause Oklahoma’s state agencies to fall afoul of Federal laws.
If this passes, it could effectively exempt the state of Oklahoma from the recently expanded Federal Hate Crimes Law, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. In fact, Senator Russell proposed just that in December.
While state agencies would still co-operate with federal agencies in cases that qualify under Oklahoma law as valid hate crimes, state laws do not make crimes motivated by homophobia a hate crime. Persons targeted on the basis of their sexual orientation would not be protected in Oklahoma, despite the federal statutes.
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- Oklahoma to ignore new hate crimes law? (bilerico.com)
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6 Responses to Oklahoma senate overwhelmingly votes to limit hate crime investigations
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Mike Oklahoma City
March 12, 2010 at 10:20 pm
I am not gay or a minority but I do live in Oklahoma and when I came across this article I was shocked. I grew up here, left for a decade or so and moved back and the mindset is really disturbing.
CanuckJacq
March 13, 2010 at 2:51 am
Yeah, I have a good friend in OK, which is why these stories always jump out at me. I can’t believe gay people live there anymore! But then again, it’s their home too, why should they have to leave to find acceptance?
Hopefully more and more Oklahomans will be like you, and might push against the shocking bigotry we see too often.
Bryan Phillips
March 11, 2010 at 7:56 pm
WOW Oklahoma is sending a very strong message. The message is “If your gay look out, we will not protect you and we don’t care what the FEDERAL COURTS say.” There is one more, “If you hate homosexuals and you would like to target them, come to our state we will protect you.” You know that could be their state logo.. I am very upset with Oklahoma Senate. This was the state that brought the issue of hate crimes to light not only is country but also to the world. Have they forgotten Matthew Shepard? This shows to the rest of the country and the world that the U.S. DOES NOT CARE about all of its citizens!!!! I’m just glade I don’t live in Oklahoma..nor will I ever visit the state for any reason. I like breathing!!!!
Sei
March 11, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I can just imagine what the arguments in the Supreme Court over this law would sound like.
“Your honors, the Tenth Amendment exempts the states from having to comply with this law.”
“No it does not.”
“But-but-”
“The Constitution of the United States clearly gives greater weight to Federal law than it does State law. Incidentally, no one has bought that Tenth Amendment argument since before the Civil War.”