As a proud Oklahoman, I will talk your ear off about how much I love my home state. It is full of wonderful people, great food, and really exciting scenes in cities like Tulsa (represent) and Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, most people wouldn’t know that for all the idiots who make national press– and they’re usually in the government.
Today, my sigh of disappointment comes from the Senate— yesterday, the Oklahoma government passed a measure banning gay marriage indefinitely as well as a whopping three abortion bills. Since 2009, abortion providers have been required to post information about every abortion on the internet, and one of these new bills substantially increases how much information is required. It’s apparently necessary to make sure that abortion providers are complying with recent laws, which, knowing Oklahoma, are probably more harmful than helpful.
Thankfully, some women in the Oklahoma Senate are proof of progressive thinking in one of America’s reddest states (you may recognize the above picture of Tulsa senator Judy Eason McIntyre at a personhood protest). Tulsa World posted a super on-point response to the abortion bills from Senator Constance Johnson:
Johnson, D-Forest Park, said the measure is a continuation of the Legislature’s desire to delve into the private matters of women and curb access to reproductive services.
The state mandates coverage for erectile dysfunction medication, but it does not for birth control, she said.
“That statement alone is very telling about what our priorities are here,” she said. “It is OK for women to always be barefoot and pregnant as long as the man is able to get an erection any time he wants,” Johnson said.
People often use occasions like these as an excuse to stay away from the flyover states, but, as Johnson shows, we’re way more outraged by our politics than liberals on the coast. After all, we’re the ones who have to deal with them.
Image via Colorlines.com
