DUNCAN – Gov. Kevin Stitt pumped up some faithful Republicans Saturday as he spoke at the 18th annual Stephens County Fish Fry fundraiser, which is one of the largest GOP events in Oklahoma.
To approximately 800 Republicans in attendance, the governor’s opening remarks
celebrated the nation and the state. He also lauded state lawmakers for passage of the most restrictive abortion bill in the nation, which he will consider signing as soon as it hits his desk. The measure prohibits abortions from the moment of conception and relies on lawsuits from private citizens to enforce it. If signed, the new law is expected to take effect immediately.
Oklahoma’s law is modeled after one in Texas which prohibits an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Rather than pass the abortion bill, Democrats urged their Republican colleagues to focus on funding family planning services or work on improving the lives of young Oklahomans living in poverty.
Moving away from the abortion issue, the governor told the audience his “favorite bill” of the 2022 legislative session was the Save Women’s Sports measure, which drew criticism from Democrats. The Save Women’s Sports legislation, also known as Senate Bill 2, allows student-athletes to play only on sports teams matching their biological sex, meaning transgender girls would have to play on a boys team.
“It’s common sense,” he said. “We know the difference between a boy and girl in Oklahoma.”
Members of the University of Oklahoma women’s track team thanked the governor for saving their scholarships, he said.
Telling the GOP audience that then-President Donald Trump inspired him to seek the governor’s chair, Stitt referred to 2018 when “there was a different feeling in Oklahoma.” Stitt, who is seeking re-election, won his first term that year.
“We had billion-dollar budget deficits and teacher walkouts,” he said, reminding the Republican supporters that Oklahoma now has more than $2 billion in savings, 2,000 fewer state employees and lower taxes for every Oklahoman and business.
Stitt also boasted that there are 100,000 more registered Republican voters while “the bad guys, the socialists” have lost 60,000 registered voters.
“People are starting to wake up and take notice of Oklahoma,” the governor said.
Stitt noted that he took a common sense approach during the “so-called pandemic” by keeping children in school and businesses open while other states were shutting their doors. Stitt also boasted that Oklahoma has the sixth best electricity prices, ranks second in wind energy production and is moving to the top of the list with hydrogen and electric vehicle production.
Stitt then turned his attention to President Joe Biden while criticizing the commander-in-chief for his energy policies, including the shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline, the Afghanistan war and the nation’s border crisis.
“Twenty-six governors have asked for a meeting with the president on the border crisis” and have received no response,” Stitt said.
Stitt also made special mention of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision. The ruling held that the reservations belonging to five tribes in eastern and south central Oklahoma were never disestablished by Congress. As a result of the McGirt ruling, some crimes committed in this region must be prosecuted in federal or tribal courts.
“This is not Kevin Stitt against the tribes. It’s a complicated issue,” he said, while urging audience members to contact their district attorneys and sheriffs about “this situation.”
Switching to education, Stitt said lawmakers need to do a better job for Oklahoma’s young people by allowing school vouchers for parents who want to change districts or move their children to a private or charter school. Stitt favors breaking up the educational monopoly in Oklahoma and giving “power back to parents.”
“I trust parents to do the best for their students,” he said. “They can go from a failing school to a school that better fits their needs.”
In closing his remarks, Stitt said the COVID-19 pandemic caused him concern because “liberties” were being taken away because of federal mandates.
“I will fight back against anyone who tries to tell us how to live our lives in Oklahoma,” he said to a rousing ovation.