OKLAHOMA: State Senate Shoots Down Bill To Override All Local LGBT Anti-Discrimination Ordinances

Holy cow. For once some good news out of Oklahoma:

Twenty-five Oklahoma State Senators took a historic stand against anti-LGBTQ discrimination today. SB 694 and SB 197 were both called onto the senate floor for a vote. The former would have stripped employment and public accommodation protections form municipalities around the state, the later was a North Carolina “license to discriminate” bill. After Senator Brecheen’s SB 694 was voted down in resounding fashion, Senator Silk pulled SB 197, as he knew it would fail by a greater margin.

“At least for today, we celebrate an end to the legislature’s hateful attack on Oklahoma’s LGBTQ community,” said ACLU of Oklahoma Executive Director, Ryan Kiese. “This population that has been marginalized historically and today, desperately need further protection from our government, rather than an annual assault on their liberty.