Oklahoma governor angers gun and gay rights groups same day
OOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) KLAHOMA’S REPUBLICAN Governor Mary Fallin vetoed a bill that would have allowed adults to carry handguns without a permit and signed another that permits religious organisations to exclude same sex couples from adoptions, managing to anger both gun and gay rights groups on the same day.
The twin actions announced late last Friday were among more than a dozen decisions on legislation taken by the termlimited governor as she clears the decks in her waning months in office.
They also followed a tumultuous session of the Legislature that saw striking teachers march on the capitol, prompting lawmakers to raise taxes including on the state’s powerful oil and gas industry, to fund increases in education spending.
Her veto of the gun bill dealt a rare blow to the National Rifle Association in a conservative state. But the proposal to authorise adults to carry firearms without a permit or training was opposed by law enforcement officials, who said it would weaken background checks and hurt public safety.
In a statement announcing her veto, Fallin stressed her support for the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms and noted she had signed concealed and open carry measures in the past.
“I believe the firearms laws we currently have in place are effective, appropriate and minimal,” she said.
The bill is similar to so-called “constitutional carry” legislation adopted in a dozen other states.
The NRA blasted Fallin for what it said was ignoring her promise when she ran for reelection in 2014 to support a constitutional carry gun law.
Fallin is in her second fouryear term and cannot run for reelection this year. Several Republicans running to succeed her had called on Fallin to sign the measure.
The adoption decision also prompted an angry response, this time from LGBTQ groups, who said it was a license to discriminate against gays and lesbians.
The Family Equality Council, which advocates for LGBTQ families, said the law allows religious groups “to discriminate on the basis of their belief that LGBTQ people should not be raising children.”
But Fallin’s action drew support from Oklahoma’s Catholic bishops.
In a third decision last Friday, Fallin vetoed a bill that would have allowed the state to sentence some juveniles to life in prison without parole.