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Oklahoma started the legislative session with more than a dozen proposed laws targeting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents.
Now the number is whittled down to three. Two of those proposals deal with the same issue — reiterating that clergy cannot be forced to marry anyone. The other bill would end the practice of marriage licenses being issued by court clerks.
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When called to ask why the other bills — including one that would amend the state’s existing Religious Freedom Act, enacted in 2000 — have been set aside or laid dormant, lawmakers are not eager — or willing — to talk. Their reluctance could be attributed to the backlash Indiana has experienced with the recent passage of its Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Rep. Chuck Strohm, R-Jenks, said earlier that his House Bill 1371 was intended to protect small businesses that don’t want to provide services for marriages to which the business-owner objects on religious grounds.
After spending Wednesday talking to lawmakers at the Capitol, Toby Jenkins, executive director of Oklahomans for Equality, said those bills seem to be off the table for the year. But the proposals could return next year, he noted.
The proposals either pulled or stalled include some specifically involving same-sex marriage. Other now-dead proposals include:
- House Bill 1597, by Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, which would allow businesses to refuse services to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people.
- House Bill 1598, also by Kern, which would ensure that therapy seeking to convert someone from gay to straight remains legal.
- House Bill 2215, by Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, which would require marriage license applicants to report whether either party has undergone a gender-reassignment surgery.
- Senate Bill 805, by Sen. Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate, which would prohibit public funds from being used for any support of same-sex marriage and would remove from office any judges who officiate at such marriages.
“We’ve been told we’re going to be OK this year, but everybody admits it could get real bizarre, real quick and unexpected,” Jenkins said. “Talk around the Capitol is that no one wants to be Indiana.”
The proposed changes to Oklahoma law would be a pre-emptive move, according to supporters. The notion is that businesses with limited resources are targeted for court challenges.
“The new bill is perceived to strengthen current law,” said David Weston, Oklahoma Republican Party chairman. “In essence, what is taking place is that a lot of businesses without deep pockets are being challenged and sued so case law can be developed. In turn, by doing that, it is the same thing as enacting case law.
“Those businesses run out of money, and then you get your way. Case law is developed and can be forced on others. We see that as tyranny, and it is not right. Businesses being forced to do something violating personal beliefs is wrong.”
Critics of Indiana’s law said it is written in a way that would allow businesses to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, but supporters argue that the law is misunderstood. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has asked for clarifying legislation.
At least 40 national business chief executive officers — including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Angie’s List CEO Bill Oesterle and Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett — have condemned Indiana’s law. Some companies have halted expansions there; conventions planned for the state are being canceled; and at least three other states’ governors have pledged not to allow their states’ money to be spent in Indiana.
Soon after Indiana’s law was enacted, Arkansas lawmakers passed a similar bill. Gov. Asa Hutchison said he will not sign the Arkansas bill unless some changes are made to it. He said his son signed a petition asking him to veto the legislation.
The state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts are patterned after the federal law of the same name, which was passed by Congress in 1993 and approved by President Bill Clinton.
The act overturned a 1990 Supreme Court ruling that set a looser standard for laws restricting religious practices. The case involved the state of Oregon’s firing of an American Indian employee from a job in a drug rehabilitation program for using the drug peyote as part of a ritual in his Native American religion.
The majority opinion in Division v. Smith, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, moved the bar for government restrictions on religious practices away from demonstating “a compelling interest.” The ruling said that although states have the power to accommodate religious practices, even if otherwise illegal, they are not required to do so.
A source of debate is whether there is much difference between the state and federal laws.
Those blasting the Indiana law say it gives businesses more leeway to discriminate, particularly against same-sex couples and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Weston could not provide an example of an Oklahoma business that has been sued for refusing to provide a service for religious reasons but said it has happened in other states. “I’ve got to believe they feel like something like this is needed, or it would not have been brought forth,” he said.
“It is key to make sure people understand discrimination and religious freedom are two completely different issues and should be addressed as such and not co-mingle the two,” Weston said.
Jenkins said economic power is a strength. His organization started the Equality Business Alliance five years ago to identify businesses that welcome same-sex couples and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. More than 300 Oklahoma businesses are on the list.
Just last week, 13 companies and service providers asked Oklahomans for Equality to list them in its EBA. The businesses cited the Indiana controversy in making their decisions to join the alliance.
“It’s been a good learning lesson for Indiana — and everybody,” Jenkins said. “When you say ‘religious freedom,’ it sounds like a good idea. No one stops to think through what that looks like to the public.
“Money is green, not a rainbow. It is green when it is in my hand, and it is still green when it’s in yours.”
Oklahoma and 28 other states do not include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination laws, which opponents of the bill argue opens the door to discriminating against LGBT people.
Jenkins said his organization is working to get municipalities and counties to expand anti-discrimination policies for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
