No retreat: Two of the Oklahoma legislature’s strictest hardliners on abortion, State Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, and Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, said they will oppose any attempt to create exemptions to the state’s near-total ban on the procedure.
“New allowances for abortion might come veiled as compassion and care for difficult and tragic circumstances. In fact, this is not the case at all. This would be nothing less than the taking away of innocent human life,” Dahm and Olsen said in a joint press release.
State Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain, meanwhile, asked Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor for a legal opinion on the ramifications of “self-induced” abortion.
Speak now: A month-long public comment period on new Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority rules began last week and continues through Dec. 15
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A public hearing on the rules is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 15 in Room 535 of the Oklahoma Capitol. The hearing will also be livestreamed.
The proposed rules can be viewed at omma.ok.gov/comment.
Mary Fallin: Former Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has joined the directors of Old Glory Holding Co., a national concern that has bought an Elmore City bank with the intention of turning it into a “digital-first” institution operating “sea to shining sea.”
One of the company’s founders is Dr. Ben Carson, a surgeon and the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration.
According to a press release and the bank’s website, it plans to play up a patriotic theme while targeting “lower- and middle-income Americans and those Americans that other banks have marginalized and ignored, hard-working patriots who keep this country running every day.”
Scholarships: Applications are being accepted through March 1 for Creek County Democratic Party scholarships.
Applicants must be graduating high school seniors who are residents of Creek County and are either registered Democrats or have at least one parent or guardian who is a registered Democrat in Creek County.
Up to two $1,500 scholarships will be awarded.
Applications can be obtained by emailing CreekCountyDemocratScholarship@gmail.com.
Bottom lines: Jenifer Stevens was appointed Tulsa County Republican Party vice chairwoman, filling a vacancy. … State Sen. Dave Rader, R-Tulsa, was re-elected Republican Caucus chairman for the coming year.
— Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World
Gov. Kevin Stitt, Sen. Nathan Dahm and Attorney General John O’Connor discuss Senate Bill 612 and legal challenges.
