For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Angela Allmond, Communications Director
Oklahoma Democratic Party
angela@okdemocrats.org

Oklahoma Republican Lawmakers File More Faux Religion Performative Bills

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, FEBRUARY 3, 2022 – Republican Lawmakers are very busy chasing national headlines for attention by knowingly filing unconstitutional bills for the spotlight. One Republican bill, SB1470, the Students’ Religious Belief Protection Act, which “prohibits anything that promotes positions in the classroom or at any function of the public school that is in opposition to closely held students’ religious beliefs,” is the latest attempt to attack education and penalize teachers.

“Exactly which religious beliefs does this bill address, and what about agnostic and atheist students? Would they also be recognized in ‘opposition’ of what’s being taught, or does this bill really only focus on one religion in opposition to other religions?” asked Alicia Andrews, Chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party.

“Oklahoma Republican lawmakers are modeling much of their filings on other red states alt-right legislative movements, censoring our education system, and attempting to turn our state back 70 years. They aren’t interested in helping Oklahomans but instead using outrageous political agendas with no basis in logic to garner media attention regardless of the waste in tax dollars and the constitutional violations.

“The sheer volume of performative bill filings by Oklahoma GOP lawmakers is out of control and in conflict with creating genuine laws that benefit Oklahomans,” continued Andrews.

“Republicans need to recognize that it’s 2022, not 1950. We live in a diverse religious time and must continue to evolve with the times. Oklahoma GOP lawmakers are stuck in an archaic era and stoking fear instead of viewing Oklahoma as a collective. Excluding groups and ignoring the consequences of their outdated lawmaking must stop,” Andrews concluded.

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For more information about the Oklahoma Democratic Party, visit the party website at okdemocrats.org, or call party headquarters at 405-427-3366.