The Oklahoma Republican Party approved a resolution on Saturday calling for the Abolition of Abortion Act (SB1729) to receive a hearing on the Senate floor, in addition to SB1976, a bill to abolish pornography, and SB2031, a bill to abolish the state income tax.
The meeting was made up of roughly 120 county and state GOP leaders who voted unanimously in favor of the resolution, according to the resolution's author, Senator Dusty Deevers. Not only was the vote unanimous, but the resolution received a standing ovation after it was passed. The vote was made easier by the fact that all three bills already have precedent in the State party's platform, which was noted in the resolution's language.
The State party has no binding authority over elected officials but it can pass resolutions censuring them if they stray too far from the party platform. For instance, they also passed a resolution on Saturday censuring Senator James Lankford for his border compromise which reportedly allows 5,000 illegal entries per day.
If the Oklahoma Senate does not give a floor debate to the Abolition of Abortion Act, the State party could censure those responsible. Chief among those responsible for the success of the bill are Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, Floor Leader Greg McCortney, and Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chair Paul Rosino. If SB1729 doesn't make it to the floor, they will be the reason why.
In 2020, Treat, McCortney, and Rosino all voted against a motion by former State Senator Joseph Silk to bring the abolition bill to the Senate floor. McCortney and Rosino also voted against the bill in committee in 2021.
Oklahoma Republican Party Vice-Chair Wayne Hill told Abolitionists Rising that the State party will be grading Senate leadership based on whether they work to give the three bills a hearing or not.
I am so proud of Senator Dusty Deevers for bringing these issues to the forefront. We are watching Senate leadership closely and will grade them based on how they move forward on these important pieces of legislation."
Deevers is confident the vote indicates that bottom-up change is coming to Oklahoma Republican politics. "The Oklahoma grassroots Republicans, the most informed and conservative voters, are alive and well, watching their representative officials, and demanding Christian, conservative action," Deevers said. "They are demanding that pornography be made illegal. They are demanding that abortion be abolished. They are demanding that their elected officials repeal the income tax. I am convinced we will see this reflected in new candidates and voting patterns."
Given Treat, McCortney, and Rosino's history of opposing abolition, Deevers is less confident in Senate leadership: "Time will tell if the powers that be will listen to the OKGOP and grassroots. If they do not, I am confident the grassroots will respond appropriately."
