Tag Archives: Oklahoma

The Associated Press reports: A 24-year-old man is guilty of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank, a federal jury ruled Monday. Jurors convicted Jerry Drake Varnell, of Sayre, of attempting to use an explosive device to damage a building and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors alleged that …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Oklahoma lawmaker sentenced for child sex trafficking has been ordered to pay more than $125,000 in restitution. Former state Sen. Ralph Shortey is serving a 15 year prison sentence at a facility in Seagoville, Texas after pleading guilty in Nov. 2017. Police caught Shortey in March 2017 in a Moore hotel room with …

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: Newly elected Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma attended an “Inaugural Prayer Service” today, during which he declared that it is his mission to align the state “with what God is doing in Oklahoma,” while his wife proclaimed that it is their responsibility “to go our into our state and save people and …

Tulsa’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Republican state senator in Oklahoma has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on a child sex trafficking charge. Ralph Shortey was sentenced Monday in federal court in Oklahoma City. He had faced a sentence of up to life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Shortey pleaded guilty in November in …

Oklahoma City’s Fox affiliate reports: Several law enforcement agencies have stepped in after parents made threats to harm a 12-year-old Achille Public Schools student on social media last week. 12-year-old Achille Schools transgender student Maddie’s mother Brandy Rose says her family moved to Achille from Sherman when Maddie was in 5th grade. “She’s been living as female for years– she …

The Los Angeles Times reports: California will ban state-funded travel to Oklahoma because of a new law there that lets private agencies deny placement of adopted children with same-sex couples, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra announced Friday. Oklahoma is the ninth state to fall under California’s anti-discrimination travel ban, joining Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota and …

The Associated Press reports: Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a bill late Friday that would have authorized adults to carry firearms without a permit or training, dealing a rare defeat to the National Rifle Association in a conservative state. The veto comes after opposition from the business community and law enforcement authorities, including top officials with the Oklahoma State …

Just in from Lambda Legal: Today, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed SB 1140, a license-to-discriminate bill that would allow taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to reject foster or adoptive parents based upon the agency’s religious beliefs. A similar bill, SB 284, sits on the desk of Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer awaiting signature. Currey Cook, Counsel and Director, Youth in Out-of-Home Care …

The Associated Press reports: Oklahoma legislators approved a measure Thursday to grant legal protections to faith-based adoption agencies that cite their religious beliefs for not placing children in LGBT homes and lawmakers in Kansas were close to passing a similar measure. The Oklahoma House’s 56-21 vote sent its measure to Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who has not said whether she …

The Tulsa World reports: The Oklahoma Senate met late into the night Wednesday as it passed a bill that would allow the carrying of guns without a permit. Sen. Nathan Dahm [photo], author of Senate Bill 1212, dubbed the “constitutional carry” bill, said it would allow people 21 and older and military personnel who are 18 and older to carry …

The Tulsa World reports: Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill that makes MercyMe’s multi-platinum Christian song “I Can Only Imagine” the official state inspirational song of Oklahoma on Thursday. The recognition comes at a time when the movie of the same name — which was filmed in Oklahoma — is still in theaters as a box-office success, becoming the third-biggest …

This is fantastic: Striking Oklahoma teachers jangled their keys and chanted “Where’s my car?” at their governor after she compared their demands to a “teenager wanting a better car.” Public schools in Oklahoma are closed this week as teachers strike for better pay and resources. On Tuesday, Gov. Mary Fallin (R) said the teachers striking for improved pay and benefits …

CBS News reports: For the third day, thousands of Oklahoma teachers marched at the state capitol. Inside the rotunda, educators, and hundreds of their students demanded an increase in school funding. On Tuesday, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed a bill giving teacher-support staff, like teachers’ aides and janitors, a $1,250 raise. Last week, she signed a measure that gave teachers …

The Tulsa World reports: Thousands of Oklahoma teachers are descending on the Oklahoma Capitol on Monday in the first day of what could be an extended teacher walkout. Early Monday afternoon, Tulsa Public Schools and Broken Arrow Public Schools were among those announcing they would shut down again Tuesday in support of the teacher walkout. By 9:15 a.m., a continuous …

Oklahoma Wesleyan president Everett Piper is getting a lot of attention for an op-ed he wrote for the far-right Washington Times. An excerpt: I recommend this simple exercise: Go to any article in any magazine or website that argues for “conversations” about sexual morality and simply replace the acronym of the day with another set of letters. For example, every …

The Associated Press reports: A bill that opponents say would allow religious-based adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples, single people and non-Christians has cleared the Oklahoma Senate. Senate Bill 1140 passed 35-9 Tuesday and now heads to the House. The bill would cover child-placing agencies that block adoptive parents who do not meet the agencies’ religious or moral standards. …

This took unusually long. Oklahoma City’s CBS affiliate reports: The pastor who presided over the morning prayer and devotion in the state Senate is generating some anger. He suggested recent natural disasters and man-made tragedies like the Florida school shooting are the result of God’s wrath over, among other things, gay marriage. “Jacob (Nikolas) Cruz, February the 14th, went into …

Esquire reports: A rising Republican star – yes, there still are some of those — named Nathan Dahm, who is running to replace the equally wingy wingnut Jim Bridenstine in the Congress, has filed Senate Bill 1457. What does this bill do? I am glad you asked. It makes all wildlife in Oklahoma “the property of Almighty God.” Things are …

The boy does not appear in the clip, presumably because he was a juvenile. Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate reports: Police have released body-camera footage of the March night when officers found former state Sen. Ralph Shortey in a motel room with an underage boy. Before police entered Shortey’s room at the Super 8 along Interstate 35 near Northeast 12th Street, …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: A former state senator could face up to life in prison after pleading guilty to child sex trafficking. Former Sen. Ralph Shortey, 35, entered a guilty plea Thursday after being caught with a 17-year-old boy at a motel. On March 9, the Moore Police Department was called shortly before 1 a.m to the Super 8 …