Shortly before Christmas, Senator Rob Standridge introduced Senate Bill 1142, which deals with that type of "literature" in public schools, public charter schools, and school libraries. Standridge believes that some form of his bill will make it through the legislature because he says fellow legislators can easily see for themselves why parents are complaining.
"In Oklahoma, you don't need to go any further than to look at the library's Facebook pages where they promote all these sexual-related books," he tells AFN. "And so, I think legislators need look no further than that to realize that we've got a problem."
Specifically, the legislation targets books that address "the study of sex, sexual preferences, sexual activity, sexual perversion, sex-based classifications, sexual identity, [or] gender identity."
SB 1142 would give parents the right to request the removal of books "of a sexual nature" that they would want to know and approve of prior to giving children access to them.
"I would encourage parents and grandparents, if they haven't stood up yet … to start – because if they lose their children because we didn't pay attention and we didn't stand up, that's a sad testimony to those of us with faith and everybody else for that matter," the lawmaker urges.
Standridge's bill calls for a $10,000 fine each day a book approved for removal is not taken off the shelves.
At the same time he introduced SB 1142, Standridge brought forward a similar bill prohibiting state colleges and universities from requiring students to take a course (not a core requirement of their chosen major) that addresses any form of gender, sexual, or racial diversity, equality, or inclusion curriculum.
Both measures can be considered during the upcoming session of the Oklahoma Legislature, which begins in February.
