Oklahoma Communities Assessing Damage From 8 Tornadoes
Gov. Kevin Stitt is schedueld to visit tornado-devastated Barnsdall this afternoon.
The small northeast Oklahoma town has extensive damage including dozens of homes that were destroyed and a nursing home that took a direct hit.
The National Weather Service confirmed at least eight tornadoes touched down statewide last night.
The Osage Nation declared a state of emergency as much of its reservation was impacted.
The Nation sent emergency personnel and recovery teams to assist with rescue efforts, and dispatched a mobile health unit to provide medical aid and meals to those in need.
The Osage Hotel & Casino is delivering cases of water to local residents.
The tribe is urging those who are not emergency personnel to avoid the area to prevent traffic congestion.
Two Lawsuits Challenge New Title IX Rules
The State Department of Education and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond are separately suing the Biden Administration for changes to Title IX rules.
The rule changes focus on protections for gender identity.
State Superintendent Ryan Walters and Drummond announced the separate lawsuits in news releases Monday.
The Biden Administration finalized new rule changes in April to clarify that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited.
Those rules likely conflict with recent Oklahoma laws prohibiting transgender girls from participating in womens’ sports and requiring students to use bathrooms that correspond with their biological sex.
Schools must be in compliance with Title IX to receive federal funding.
Walters said in the release the rule is rooted in radical gender theory and sets back women’s civil rights by generations.
Drummond said in his release the rule disregards the original purpose behind the law of creating fair competitive spaces for female athletes.
New Law Aims To Reduce Maternal Mortality Rate
Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill into law that intends to reduce Oklahoma’s growing maternal death rate.
The bipartisan legislation was developed by health organizations across the state.
House Bill 2152 was authored by Lindsay Republican Representative Cynthia Roe and Tulsa Democratic Senator Jo Anna Dossett.
It requires hospitals to make a reasonable effort to report all maternal deaths to the Chief Medical Examiner within 72 hours.
A once-optional practice is now mandatory under HB 2152 - reported deaths must be investigated.
The results from that report will be sent to the Oklahoma Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which meets to review pregnancy-associated deaths and work on ways to prevent them.
The bill also decreases the membership of that committee from 25 to 11. The authors say a smaller committee will improve the board’s efficiency.
Consent Bill Stalled
A bill to up the age of sexual consent to 18 in Oklahoma won’t pass this session.
A vote on the bill was postponed over a disagreement on the marriage of minors.
Senate Bill 615 would have upped the age of consent in nearly all cases from 16 to 18 in Oklahoma.
Before the vote, Democratic Representative Andy Fugate proposed an amendment to ban marriages for 16 and 17 year olds unless the youth is emancipated from their parents.
“Respectfully, if somebody needs to have their parents’ consent to be married, they’re not old enough to be married,” Fugate said.
After the amendment was added by a 64 to 13 vote, author Jim Olsen moved to push the bill to a later session. Olsen told nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Voice he doesn’t want to take child marriages away from teenagers who get pregnant, or from young adults.
Senate author Warren Hamilton said he plans to refile the bill next year.
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