Tornadoes tore through parts of Oklahoma on Thursday, injuring at least 10 people and causing serious property damage, according to <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/tornado-enid-braman-oklahoma-damage-video/71116783" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KOCO News 5</a>.
No fatalities were reported from the severe weather, which primarily hit the northern part of the state.
One of the hardest-hit communities was Enid, where roughly 40 homes were damaged, <a href="https://ktul.com/news/local/officials-40-homes-damaged-in-enid-garfield-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KTUL</a> reported. The city is home to Vance Air Force Base, and a dramatic video from the area showed a massive tornado moving near it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dramatic video captured a powerful tornado near Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma, on Thursday evening. <a href="https://t.co/zqzebLRoDl">pic.twitter.com/zqzebLRoDl</a>
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) <a href="https://twitter.com/accuweather/status/2047657770514837972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt urged prayers for those affected.
“Please join me in praying for the Enid community, which has been severely impacted by tonight’s tornado,” Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) posted to X last Thursday night.
“I have spoken with Enid’s local leaders and will continue working with them as they assess the damage and identify needs. My prayers are with everyone on Vance Air Force Base and the surrounding neighborhood, and I am asking God to bring healing and comfort in the days ahead.”
Stitt warned that storms will “continue to move across Oklahoma tonight.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mother Nature’s wrath on full display..Daylight pictures of Gray Ridge neighborhood in Enid after last nights violent tornado..Some houses are slabbed..Best news..NO FATALITIES thanks to advanced warnings and people taking the info seriously <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrayersForEnid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrayersForEnid</a> 
📸 <a href="https://twitter.com/koconews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@koconews</a> <a href="https://t.co/ztfbQX6VcR">pic.twitter.com/ztfbQX6VcR</a>
— Todd Miller (@PlayByPlayGuy1) <a href="https://twitter.com/PlayByPlayGuy1/status/2047706394804023450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch in 14 Oklahoma counties until 9 p.m. Friday, including parts of east-central and southeastern parts of the state.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management is asking people to report storm damage.
“Damage assessments are ongoing today,&#8221; the department posted.
&#8220;Reporting damage helps authorities understand the impact of damages and can help connect you to recovery resources,” the post continued.
Other officials expressed an outpouring of support for the community, which has just over 50,000 people and is just over 100 miles north of Oklahoma City.
&#8220;Our prayers are with the people of Northern Oklahoma as they recover from the damage caused by tornadoes. My office stands ready to protect the interests of these individuals against those seeking to take advantage of them during this vulnerable time,&#8221; Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond <a href="https://x.com/Okla_OAG/status/2047691039948075240?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>.

Oklahoma Town Of Barnsdall Hit By Deadly Tornado

Tornado Ravages Through Community Near Air Force Base: ‘Vulnerable Time’

Kevin Stitt

Oklahoma

Tornado

Weather

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt moved this week to stop abortion giant Planned Parenthood from receiving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars every year.
Stitt signed an <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/governor/documents/2025-07-16%20EO%20OHCA.pdf">executive order</a> on Thursday directing the state Medicaid program to not distribute funds to groups that promote abortion or are affiliated with abortion providers. Planned Parenthood of the Great Plains currently receives around $550,000 through SoonerCare every year, Stitt told The Daily Wire. 
“We don&#8217;t want to give to these organizations that are promoting values that are anti-family and anti-what Oklahoma values are,” the governor said. “And so we&#8217;re going to deploy our funds to the hospitals, the doctors, that are actually taking care of families and mothers here in the state of Oklahoma.”
The executive order cited South Carolina&#8217;s recent victory at the Supreme Court in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which cleared the way for other states to yank Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood. 
Stitt told The Daily Wire that he believed the healthcare money should be going toward doctors and hospitals, not “political organizations” like Planned Parenthood. 
While abortion is officially banned in Oklahoma, Planned Parenthood of the Great Plains still operates multiple facilities throughout the state. On its <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-great-plains/ppgp-health-centers/ppgp-in-oklahoma">website</a> for Oklahoma, it says that it offers “gender affirming care” and advertises that it still does surgical and chemical abortions in nearby Kansas. 
“If you&#8217;re a Medicaid patient, if you&#8217;re someone who needs care, those dollars are still going to be spent in the state,” Stitt said. “We&#8217;re going to take care of women, children, families, in the State of Oklahoma, and we&#8217;re not going to do it through a political organization like Planned Parenthood.”
The order directs all state agencies to cut funding through grants, contracts, state-administered federal funds, or any other way organizations that promote abortion receive taxpayer dollars. It also directs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which oversees the Medicaid program, to devise standards to exclude entities that promote abortion from being credentialed by SoonerCare. The guidance will stipulate that participants must be in line with the state&#8217;s public policy, including the protection of unborn life. 
“We want to make sure that these providers are following the laws and the will of the legislature, which is therefore the will of the people in the state of Oklahoma,” Stitt said. 
Congress recently passed legislation cutting off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, but a federal judge has put that law on hold for the moment.

Red State Moves To Slash Medicaid Funding For Planned Parenthood

Abortion

Planned Parenthood

Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt gave an economics lesson on Sunday, explaining why he thinks policies proposed by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will not work.
Stitt made the remarks during an interview on CBS News&#8217;s &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; with host Margaret Brennan while talking about the proposals Harris has made about housing.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724211156439000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2-L2DitSaIUj5wz8v0bgxx">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
&#8220;As a businessman before I became governor, I was in the mortgage business,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And the last thing that you want to do is the Vice President Harris plan, which is to put $25,000 more into every single person&#8217;s pocket for the purpose of buying houses, because if you increase demand without fixing supply, what happens to pricing? You&#8217;re actually exasperating the problem. Prices for housing goes up.&#8221;
&#8220;So, the solution that President Trump&#8217;s talking about, and it&#8217;s the correct solution, is to eliminate permitting reform, get permitting reform, make it easier for developers, make it easier for people to develop and build houses, get rid of regulations,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the &#8211; that&#8217;s the free market principles that we believe in. And we know are the correct way to do it.&#8221;
Stitt said Harris should be asked who will build the 3 million homes that she vowed would be built under her administration.
&#8220;I mean, basically, we believe either in a free market system or we believe in government intervention,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And so the bottom line is, you&#8217;re going to drive up the cost &#8211; the reason we have 20 percent inflation under a Biden-Harris administration right now is because of all of the attacks on energy, for example, the bureaucracy. We need permitting reform. We need deregulation. We need to unlock American businesses to meet the needs of Americans.&#8221;
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724211156439000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xQ8bdTcpfdrPBAzczIuck">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
&#8220;If you think about the Democratic ticket, they&#8217;ve never worked in the private sector,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And so their policies are showing that. You can&#8217;t give every single first-time home buyer $25,000 and expect the prices of houses to come down. That&#8217;s just not the way the economy works. That&#8217;s socialism. That&#8217;s communism.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says presidential campaigns should not be &quot;about winning an argument&quot;" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EqeqzE3ChaQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Gov Stitt: Harris-Walz ‘Never Worked In Private Sector’, ‘Their Policies Show That’

Economy

Kamala Harris

Politics

Tim Walz

Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill on Tuesday that makes illegal immigration a state crime punishable by fine and imprisonment. 
The <a href="http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/hB/HB4156%20ENR.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> permits <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> law enforcement to arrest people for entering the United States illegally. If convicted, the illegal immigrant would be guilty of “impermissible occupation” and could be punished with up to a year in jail and a $500 fine. The person would also be required to leave the state within 72 hours &#8220;following his or her conviction or release from custody, whichever comes later.&#8221; A second offense, upgraded to a felony, would allow the illegal immigrant to be held for two years behind bars and fined up to $1,000. Again, the person would be required to leave the state within 72 hours of being convicted or completing a prison sentence. 
“I am disappointed this bill is necessary. Since President Biden took office in 2021, more than 10 million people have poured over the southern border,” Stitt <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2024/april2024/governor-stitt-signs-bill-to-defend-oklahomans-from-biden-s-open.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Countless individuals from across the globe, including thousands of Chinese nationals as well as people affiliated with terror organizations, have illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.”
The legislation, <a href="http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB4156" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HB 4516</a>, is set to go into effect on July 1. The measure was passed 39-8 in the Senate and 77-20 in the House.
Similar laws have been passed in other Republican-led states like Iowa and Texas but have faced court challenges. Texas’s law is currently on hold while a federal appeals court considers a challenge to it. 
The text of the bill said that it was necessary in part due to the influx of Chinese-backed marijuana farms that have cropped up across the state. 
“Throughout the state, law enforcement comes into daily and increasingly frequent contact with foreign nationals who entered the country illegally or who remain here illegally,” the bill says. “This is particularly common in regard to illegal marijuana grow operations, which have exploded in number in recent years.”
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1714657703188000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0-8IzS3B7axoRMsynY0m75">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
State Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he was grateful that the measure was passed, saying it would aid law enforcement.
“Oklahoma has reaped the consequences of the Biden Administration’s utter failure to secure our nation’s border, as evidenced by the flood of illegal marijuana grows and other criminal activity connected to Chinese syndicates and Mexican cartels,” he <a href="https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/illegal-immigration-outlawed-oklahoma-starting-july-1?utm_source=daily&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
In his statement announcing his signing of the bill, Stitt <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/governor/documents/Work%20Visa%20EO.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he would create a work permit and visa task force “to find ways to bolster our workforce” to help “those who are here contributing to our communities and economy.” According to the governor, the task force will make recommendations to the governor and state legislature about making it easy for immigrants to work and find jobs in Oklahoma.

Key Speakers At The SelectUSA Investment Summit

Oklahoma Becomes Latest State To Give Police Authority To Arrest Illegal Immigrants

Border Crisis

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Joe Biden

Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has issued an <a href="https://www.sos.ok.gov/documents/executive/2092.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> banning state funds, property, or resources from being used by state agencies and institutions to support &#8220;diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs.&#8221;
That ban will be implemented “to the extent they grant preferential treatment based on one person’s particular race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another’s,” the governor’s office <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2023/december2023/governor-stitt-signs-anti-discrimination-executive-order--takes-.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. Stitt joins Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/266/?Tab=BillText" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed a bill</a> last May that banned Florida&#8217;s public colleges and universities from using funds for DEI programs.
“In Oklahoma, we’re going to encourage equal opportunity, rather than promising equal outcomes,” Stitt said. “Encouraging our workforce, economy, and education systems to flourish means shifting focus away from exclusivity and discrimination, and toward opportunity and merit. We’re taking politics out of education and focusing on preparing students for the workforce.”
The funds may also not be used to force someone to “participate in, listen to, or receive any education, training, activities, procedures, or programming,” “swear, certify, or agree to any loyalty oath that favors or prefers one particular race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another,” force someone to “certify or declare agreement with, recognition of, or adherence to, any particular political, philosophical, religious, or other ideological viewpoint,” force someone applying for a job to “provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement,” or force any person to “disclose their pronouns.”
“As a nation, we strive for equality of opportunity to give every young person a chance at achieving their American Dream,” Patrice Onwuka, director of Independent Women’s Forum’s Center for Economic Opportunity explained, adding:
<blockquote>
Race, ethnicity, gender, and heritage should not be used to discriminate against any person. Yet, discriminatory DEI programming has done damage on college campuses—fomenting division between students, eroding free speech rights, threatening academic freedom, and bloating school bureaucracies, which in turn drives up tuition costs. Furthermore, these efforts do not prepare young women and men for the diverse workforce that values aptitude, grit, and skill, not a sense of entitlement driven by victimhood. 
We applaud Governor Stitt and the state for taking leadership on removing discriminatory and divisive race-based programming and staffing from Oklahoma colleges and universities. Every student deserves a campus free from discrimination. Thankfully, legal protections already outlaw race-and sex-based discrimination, but this executive order guards against efforts to bypass those protections.
</blockquote>
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1702566054208000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3wPJyKfMQG4B-eRx4EhMSU">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
“For years, universities and government agencies, even those in red states, have become increasingly beholden to a coercive liberal agenda, often framed under the banner of DEI,” said David Safavian, general counsel for the American Conservative Union. “The transformation of these institutions has been exposed following the response by major universities in the aftermath of the October 7th terror attack by Hamas. Especially with that in mind, CPAC applauds Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for acting through executive order today to take down DEI in all of Oklahoma’s government.”

2023 Concordia Annual Summit – September 18

Oklahoma Governor Joins DeSantis, Bans Using Funds For DEI At All State Agencies, Universities

Ron DeSantis

Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed the “Women’s Bill of Rights” on Tuesday in a move that advocates called &#8220;huge&#8221; for combating gender ideology.
The “Women’s Bill of Rights,” which the governor <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2023/august2023/governor-stitt-leads-the-nation-as-first-governor-to-issue-women.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> by executive order, directs public schools to provide separate locker rooms and restrooms for boys and girls and state facilities like prisons or domestic shelters to provide separate facilities for men and women.
&#8220;Female&#8221; is defined in the <a href="https://www.iwv.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/OK-gov-stitt-executive-order-womens-bill-of-rights.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> as &#8220;a person whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova&#8221; or eggs, and &#8220;male&#8221; is defined as &#8220;a person whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilize the ova of a female.&#8221;
&#8220;Today, radical gender ideologues threaten the hard-fought progress won by women and girls in our society, and the federal government is surrendering to their demands,&#8221; the order reads, adding that there are &#8220;definitional, practical, and material&#8221; differences between the sexes.
The order said it aims to bring “clarity, certainty, and uniformity” to administrative rules to &#8220;settle the unfounded confusion surrounding such basic questions as &#8216;What is a woman?'&#8221;
&#8220;It’s even weird to say that we have to do this in today’s age &#8230; but to us, it’s just common sense that we have to do this to define what a woman is and protect women,&#8221; Stitt said on Fox News after signing the executive order.
“I have three daughters,” Stitt <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/01/womens-bill-of-rights-signed-into-oklahoma-law-by-gov-kevin-stitt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “My wife and I’ve been married for 25 years. I did this for them. I did it for Riley Gaines. I did it for all the young girls in the state of Oklahoma. It’s just absolutely wrong for them to be forced to change and undress in what should be a safe locker room as they’re competing.”
The governor said that anyone at a state agency who violates the order would be “removed immediately,” saying, “They’re not going to work in my administration.”
Former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who was forced to share a locker room with trans-identifying male athlete Lia Thomas, called the order &#8220;huge.&#8221; Gaines joined Stitt on Tuesday as he signed the executive order.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So honored to stand alongside Governor Stitt as he signed an Executive Order on the Women&#39;s Bill of Rights, a law that defines sex-based terms like &quot;woman&quot;
Stitt is the first governor to take decisive action and safeguard women&#39;s privacy, safety, and equal opportunities. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 <a href="https://t.co/bZBJvxepLh">pic.twitter.com/bZBJvxepLh</a>
&mdash; Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1686429211542638602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“This is bigger than universities that we’re seeing in academia. It’s in corporate America, it’s in the media, the amount of emotional blackmail they put us through to keep us silent. And it was effective,” Gaines said. “They told us we wouldn’t get a job, we wouldn’t get into grad school, we would lose our friends, we would lose our scholarship. They told us that we would be murderers if we spoke out because we would be complicit in a potential death. That’s how they kept us silent. That’s why it feels as if and it seems as if I’ve been one of the few voices fighting for this.&#8221;
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-54436">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Paula Scanlan, a teammate of Thomas, recently <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/01/paula-scanlan-had-nightmares-after-sharing-locker-room-with-lia-thomas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> she had nightmares after sharing a locker room with Thomas, which she described as traumatic for her as a sexual assault survivor.
Oklahoma Democrats attacked the order as an attack on transgender people.
“Once again, the Republican supermajority continues their government overreach by infringing on the rights of citizens,” said House Democratic Leader Cyndi Munson, accusing the governor of deploying “partisan, polarizing politics.”
The executive order was inspired by model legislation developed by the conservative women&#8217;s group Independent Women’s Voice.
Kansas and Tennessee have adopted similar legislation based on the model legislation.
In recent years, parents across the country have sounded the alarm about minor students using school bathrooms and locker rooms designated for classmates of the opposite biological sex. <a href="https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/08/19/transgender-sexual-assault-report-bathroom-brevard-randy-fine-fdoe-could-bring-new-state-rules/10356216002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports</a> of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/loudoun-county-schools-tried-to-conceal-sexual-assault-against-daughter-in-bathroom-father-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sexual assaults</a> occurring in bathrooms shared with trans-identifying students have only heightened concerns, and parents have shown up at school board meetings to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/frisco-isd-parents-want-students-to-use-the-bathrooms-assigned-to-their-birth-genders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demand</a> that bathrooms be separated by biological sex.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-VIRUS-HEALTH

Oklahoma Governor Signs ‘Women’s Bill Of Rights’ To Combat Gender Ideology

Gender

Social Issues

Sports

Transgender

Women's sports

Oklahoma Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-stitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Stitt</a> endorsed Ron DeSantis for president on Saturday as the Florida governor campaigned in the state.
The endorsement marks the first endorsement DeSantis has received from a governor. Trump currently has endorsements from two governors — Jim Justice (WV) and Henry McMaster (SC).
&#8220;Governor DeSantis is a strong conservative and principled leader, and I am proud to endorse him for president,&#8221; Stitt said in a statement. &#8220;As fellow Governors during COVID, DeSantis did not surrender states’ rights and individual liberties over to groupthink. In this election cycle, Oklahomans will remember that DeSantis was one of the few who never backed down in the face of adversity, because DeSantis operated with dogged conviction and shared our values for a limited government and free country.&#8221;
Stitt called DeSantis a &#8220;proven leader,&#8221; adding that he &#8220;boldly delivered results for the people of Florida that laid the groundwork for a booming economy, an education system focused on student outcomes, and better infrastructure for working families.&#8221;
&#8220;To deliver these same results all across America and unwind the disastrous liberal mandates of the Biden administration is going to demand a candidate who can win and keep winning as a two-term president,&#8221; Stitt continued. &#8220;I am confident that leader is Ron DeSantis.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
In Florida and Oklahoma, we stand up for freedom — freedom to raise your family without radical ideology being crammed down your throat; freedom to worship and live your faith as you see fit; freedom to run your business and control your finances without corporate activists… <a href="https://t.co/uvXOzpJYsD">pic.twitter.com/uvXOzpJYsD</a>
&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1667675701128855553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
📍Tulsa, Oklahoma
Gov. DeSantis speaks to the crowd outside of the actual event once it overflowed inside🚨 <a href="https://t.co/bwaXuu1TRs">pic.twitter.com/bwaXuu1TRs</a>
— Dave Vasquez (@DaveVasquezFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveVasquezFL/status/1667666403921633282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
Stitt&#8217;s endorsement comes after 20 Oklahoma state legislators and former U.S. Congressman Jim Bridenstine, who also served as NASA Administrator under Trump and was a member of the House Freedom Caucus, endorsed DeSantis this week.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1685885459858000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0AFvCLn4CIt7S8nPLjhrIg">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
The 20 endorsements included Senator Lonnie Paxton (SD 23), Senator Chris Kidd (SD 31), Senator Roland Pederson (SD 19), Senator John Michael Montgomery (SD 32), Senator Brent Howard (SD 38), Majority Floor Leader Representative Jon Echols (HD 90), Deputy Majority Leader Representative Trey Caldwell (HD 63), Deputy Floor Leader Representative John Pfeiffer (HD 38), Representative Mike Osburn (HD 81), Representative Neil Hays (HD 13), Representative Ryan Martinez (HD 39), Representative Nick Archer (HD 55), Representative Anthony Moore (HD 57), Representative Dell Kerbs (HD 26), Representative Mark Lepak (HD 9), Representative Josh West (HD 5), Representative Chris Kannady (HD 91), Representative Chad Caldwell (HD 40), Representative Terry O’Donnell (HD 23), and Representative Chris Sneed (HD 14).

DeSantis Stitt

Ron DeSantis Picks Up First Presidential Endorsement From Fellow Governor

Donald Trump

Elections

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> Supreme Court struck down two pro-life laws in a 6-3 decision on Wednesday.
Oklahoma’s highest court <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-supreme-court-abortion-bills-unconstitutional/44051611" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that Senate Bill 1503 and House Bill 4327 are unconstitutional under the Oklahoma Constitution. Both laws were passed by the Oklahoma legislature in 2022 and included a requirement that a medical emergency be present before a doctor can perform an abortion.
“We read this section of law to require a woman to be in actual and present danger in order for her to obtain a medically necessary abortion,” the majority opinion reads.
“We know of no other law that requires one to wait until there is an actual medical emergency in order to receive treatment when the harmful condition is known or probable to occur in the future,” the opinion added.
The decision came down two months after the court <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4028613-oklahoma-supreme-court-strikes-down-two-laws-restricting-abortion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that a woman has “an inherent right to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to save her life.” The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-oklahoma-ban-overturns-supreme-court-7fd43143fa0580460e09a9796ec30a82" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> reports that under this interpretation, an abortion can be performed if a doctor determines that continuing the pregnancy would endanger her life due to a pre-existing condition or if one is likely to arise in the future.
Wednesday’s ruling applies the March precedent by striking down the “medical emergency” requirement, holding that this requirement “endanger[s] the life of the pregnant woman and does not serve a compelling state interest.”
Five of the justices were appointed by a Republican governor, and four were appointed by a Democratic governor. In a 2020 study on the partisanship of state supreme courts, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Oklahoma_Supreme_Court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ballotpedia</a> characterized the Oklahoma Supreme Court as in “Republican control.”
The struck-down laws also utilize a civil lawsuit system — where private citizens can sue an individual who performs or helps another person access an abortion — to enforce the restrictions rather than criminal prosecutions.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-96097">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK) <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2023/may2023/governor-stitt-issues-statement-criticizing-oklahoma-supreme-cou.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the decision in a press release, “​​I again wholeheartedly disagree with the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s use of activism to create a right to an abortion in Oklahoma.”
Governor Stitt also echoed Oklahoma Vice-Chief Justice Dustin Rowe’s dissent, arguing that “[t]he issues presented in this matter are political questions, which are better resolved by the people via our democratic process.”
Despite the court’s decision, abortion remains illegal in the state under a <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2022/june2022/governor-stitt--ag-o-connor-celebrate-oklahoma-becoming-a-pro-li.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1910 statute</a> that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in its landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Health Care and Legal Concept

Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down 2 Pro-Life Laws

Republican <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-stitt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Stitt</a> signed a law Monday banning sex change procedures on kids, joining a growing list of red states that have moved to protect children from the life-altering treatments. 
The law bans surgeries, like elective double mastectomies on girls who identify as boys, and prohibits puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for children.
&#8220;Last year, I called for a statewide ban on all irreversible gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors so I am thrilled to sign this into law today and protect our kids,” Stitt <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2023/may2023/governor-stitt-bans-gender-transition-surgeries-and-hormone-ther.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. “We cannot turn a blind eye to what’s happening across our nation, and as governor I am proud to stand up for what’s right and ban life-altering transition surgeries on children in the state of Oklahoma.&#8221;
Stitt had previously asked for Oklahoma lawmakers to pass such a law and moved to withhold funding from Oklahoma Children&#8217;s Hospital at OU Health after it was publicized that the hospital was providing cross-sex hormones to children who identified as transgender. 
The Republican governor has also signed legislation requiring students to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex and compete on the sports team of their biological sex as well. 
Before the bill was signed, the ACLU of Oklahoma promised to take legal action against the law, as other ACLU-affiliated groups have done in other states. 
“Gender-affirming care is a critical part of helping transgender adolescents succeed, establish healthy relationships with their friends and family, live authentically as themselves, and dream about their futures. If this bill is signed into law, we will defend the rights of transgender youth in court, just as we have done in other states engaging in this anti-science and discriminatory fearmongering,” Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and the ACLU of Oklahoma <a href="https://lambdalegal.org/newsroom/ok_20230428_advocates-to-take-legal-action-in-defense-of-transgender-youth-in-oklahoma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. 
Oklahoma became the 16th Republican-led state to enact such measures, even as Democrat <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minnesota-house-votes-to-make-state-refuge-for-child-sex-changes">states move to</a> become “refuges” for transgender procedures. In some states with bans, like Arkansas and Alabama, judges have blocked the implementation of the law while the Department of Justice has sued Tennessee, arguing that its law violates the 14th Amendment. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1682517572037000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0eoxTLnzKr3rl49f2LXGnU">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said that the state would “vigorously” fight to keep the law in place. “The federal government has joined the ACLU and an elite New York law firm in attacking a bipartisan law that protects children from irreversible harm. I welcome the opportunity to litigate these issues and vigorously defend Tennessee’s laws,” Skrmetti said in a statement.

Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt speaks during CPAC (

Oklahoma Bans Trans Procedures On Kids, Becoming 16th State To Enact Such Protections

transgender surgery

A Republican legislator in Oklahoma has moved to ban gender transition procedures from being provided to anyone under the age of 21.
The <a href="https://legiscan.com/OK/text/HB1011/id/2614865">bill</a> seeks to ban medical professionals from providing or referring controversial procedures like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries for those under 21. The legislation would also block such procedures or services on the young from being tied to public funding, and any organization or hospital found in violation would lose such funding.
“It’s irresponsible for anybody in health care to provide or recommend life-altering surgeries that may later be regretted,” <a href="https://kfor.com/news/local/representative-files-bill-to-prevent-gender-affirming-care-for-oklahomans-under-21/">said</a> Republican Oklahoma State Rep. Jim Olsen, who introduced HB 1011 on Thursday.
“We know there are some people who undergo the gender transition process and later identify as their biological sex,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Performing irreversible procedures on young people can do irreparable harm to them mentally and physically later in life.”
Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oklahoma-governor-signs-bill-stopping-gender-transition-services-at-childrens-hospital">signed</a> a bill in October banning <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender">gender</a> transition procedures for children at an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> pediatric hospital after the public voiced outrage about the hospital&#8217;s practices.
“By signing this bill today we are taking the first step to protect children from permanent gender transition surgeries and therapies,” the governor <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2022/october2022/governor-stitt-signs-bill-to-prevent-gender-transition-services-.html">said</a> in a news release at the time. “It is wildly inappropriate for taxpayer dollars to be used for condoning, promoting, or performing these types of controversial procedures on healthy children.”
Stitt also said the legislation didn&#8217;t go far enough, seemingly an invitation for Olsen&#8217;s bill.
“I am calling for the Legislature to ban all irreversible gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors when they convene next session in February 2023,” Stitt said. “We cannot turn a blind eye to what’s happening all across our nation, and as governor I will not allow life-altering transition surgeries on minor children in the state of Oklahoma.”
Similar legislation intended to protect young people from such procedures has popped up in other Republican states, like Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Alabama.
Tennessee Republicans last month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-tennessee-introduces-legislation-to-ban-trans-treatments-for-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> Senate Bill 1, the Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act, which would prohibit doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and performing gender-related surgeries on minors for the purpose of medical transition.
Tennessee’s Republican Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson also introduced a bill aimed at protecting children from sexualized drag queen events, <a href="https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/SB0003.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Bill 3</a>. The bill is set to be debated during the next legislative session, which begins on January 10, and is likely to pass since Republicans hold super-majorities in both legislative chambers.
Mairead Elordi contributed to this report 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-gop-moves-to-protect-children-from-sexualized-drag-queen-events">Tennessee GOP Moves To Protect Children From Sexualized Drag Queen Events</a>

A girl holds the Transgender Pride flag during the pride

State Legislator Moves To Ban Gender Transition Procedures For Anyone Under 21 Years Old

Oklahoma Moves To Ban Gender Transition Services For Children

U.S.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed a bill on Tuesday that prohibits <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender">gender</a> transition services for children at an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oklahoma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma</a> pediatric hospital.
The <a href="http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2021-22%20ENR/SB/SB3XX%20ENR.PDF">bill</a> requires Oklahoma Children’s Hospital to stop offering gender services to minors in order to keep millions of dollars in federal COVID relief money.
&#8220;By signing this bill today we are taking the first step to protect children from permanent gender transition surgeries and therapies,&#8221; the governor <a href="https://oklahoma.gov/governor/newsroom/newsroom/2022/october2022/governor-stitt-signs-bill-to-prevent-gender-transition-services-.html">said</a> in a news release. &#8220;It is wildly inappropriate for taxpayer dollars to be used for condoning, promoting, or performing these types of controversial procedures on healthy children.&#8221;
The governor also said the bill does not go far enough and called on the legislature to ban medical gender transition for children across the state.
&#8220;I am calling for the Legislature to ban all irreversible gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies on minors when they convene next session in February 2023,&#8221; Stitt said. &#8220;We cannot turn a blind eye to what’s happening all across our nation, and as governor I will not allow life-altering transition surgeries on minor children in the state of Oklahoma.&#8221;
Senate Bill 3XX goes into effect immediately.
According to the new law, the money cannot go toward “gender reassignment medical treatment” for minors, including interventions to suppress the development of secondary sex characteristics or to “align the patient’s appearance or physical body with the patient’s gender identity.”
Oklahoma Children’s Hospital announced last week that it is planning to halt “certain gender medicine services” in order to keep funding for its new pediatric mental health facility.
The hospital was poised to lose $39.4 million in American Rescue Plan funds.
“The Legislature restricted the use of the funds from benefitting facilities performing certain gender medicine services. The new mental and behavioral health facility was never intended to provide such care. The OU Health Senior Leadership team is proactively planning the ceasing of certain gender medicine services across our facilities and that plan is already under development,” OU Health <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-ou-health-gender-health-services/41413025#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
Oklahoma Children’s is part of OU Health, the University of Oklahoma’s health system.
As recently as earlier this week, Oklahoma Children’s offered a variety of different gender services, including “pausing puberty,” “managing gender-affirming hormone therapy,” and “helping find surgeons who perform gender-affirming surgeries,” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20221002220636/https://www.ouhealth.com/oklahoma-childrens-hospital/childrens-services/adolescent-medicine/sexuality-gender-identity-issues/">according</a> to an archived version of its website.
The website has now been <a href="https://www.ouhealth.com/oklahoma-childrens-hospital/childrens-services/adolescent-medicine/sexuality-gender-identity-issues/">updated</a> to remove references to pausing puberty, hormone treatments, and surgery referrals, along with a statement from the health system about the new legislation.
&#8220;In light of the legislation signed by Governor Stitt, we have ceased hormone-related prescription therapies and surgical procedures for gender-affirming services on patients under the age of 18,&#8221; reads the statement from OU Health.
&#8220;OU Health provides care in accordance with all state and federal laws and in compliance with regulatory governing bodies,&#8221; OU Health added.
Oklahoma Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oklahoma-childrens-hospital-ends-gender-medicine-services-after-state-threatens-funding">said</a> they wanted to give the money to OU Health for its new pediatric mental health hospital, and behavioral health is the priority right now.
“I’m thankful for language in this bill that protects children from the practice of mutilation through gender reassignment medical treatment,” <a href="https://www.city-sentinel.com/health/state-representative-kevin-west-supports-special-session-bill-to-restrict-gender-reassignments-at-ou-childrens/article_ef5100c4-3e95-11ed-8dfd-772290284730.html">said</a> State Rep. Kevin West (R), who represents Oklahoma City. “This unbelievably harmful practice cannot be reversed, and has lasting physical and psychological consequences that can damage these children for the rest of their lives.”

Oklahoma Governor Signs Bill Stopping Gender Transition Services At Children’s Hospital

Oklahoma leaders condemned the Wednesday <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-shooter-opens-fire-at-tulsa-medical-facility-multiple-casualties-reported">shooting</a> at a Tulsa medical center that left five people dead, including the shooter, who appears to have committed suicide.
The shooter, who has been described as a black man between the ages of 35 and 40, went to the Natalie Building on the St. Francis Hospital Campus, where he began shooting.
&#8220;Officers immediately rushed to the second floor where the shooting was taking place, when they got there they found a few people had been shot, a couple were dead at that time,” Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-responding-active-shooting-tulsa-oklahoma-hospital/story?id=85120242">told</a> ABC News. “We also found at that time who [we] believe and still believe to [be] the shooter.”
The shooter reportedly brought two weapons with him to conduct the attack.
“We are doing a meticulous floor-by-floor, room-by-room search. It’s calmed down,” Meulenberg said on Wednesday. “We’re trying to connect people and we’re hoping not to find any victims.”
In the wake of the tragedy, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kevin-stitt">Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt</a> (R) released a statement calling the attack “a senseless act of violence and hatred.”
“Sarah and I are praying for the families of those who lost their lives and for those who were injured,” the governor added. &#8220;I am grateful for the quick and brave actions of the Tulsa Police Department and other first responders who did their best to contain a terrible situation.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-lankford">Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford</a> (R) also released a statement.
“Cindy and I are heartbroken to hear the devastating news out of Tulsa this evening. We are praying for the families of the lives that were taken far too soon and for a full recovery for those who were injured today. It is hard to process the anger that motivates someone to commit such violence, especially at a place that provides care and healing,” Lankford said. &#8220;I am in touch with local officials in Tulsa and will continue to receive updates on the situation. Our law enforcement and first responders were prepared and equipped to respond to a situation to which no one ever wants to respond. I’m grateful for their quick reaction to prevent any further loss of life.&#8221;
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt also expressed his concern, saying &#8220;Oklahoma City’s prayers go out to the victims of the shooting in Tulsa, their families, the health care professionals affected, and all the people of Tulsa.&#8221;
The shooting in Tulsa came just days after a gunman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shootings-in-tennessee-oklahoma-and-pennsylvania-leave-several-dead-over-memorial-day-weekend">opened fire</a> at a festival in Taft, Oklahoma, killing a 39-year-old woman and injuring seven others. That shooting was reportedly prompted by an argument.
It is still unclear why a gunman targeted the Tulsa medical center.

Shooting At Tulsa Medical Building Leaves Four Dead

‘Senseless Act Of Violence And Hatred’: Oklahoma Governor, Other Leaders, Condemn Tulsa Medical Center Shooting

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Senator James Lankford Condemn Tulsa Shooting

James Lankford

Mass Shooting

Menu