By Emma Velez, Columnist
Like a train wreck, the opening weeks of the Oklahoma legislative session often cause me to stare even as I cringe, unable to tear my eyes away from the spectacle.
This legislative session, it seems, will be no different.
There are several pieces of proposed legislation that I am unhappy about this session (see House Bill 1895 that seeks to eliminate public funding of the arts by the state.)
I am more concerned by the efforts of Rep. John Bennett (R-Oklahoma City) who is actively seeking to establish a counterterrorism caucus to fight the Muslim Brotherhood in the state legislature.
This move is one of several made by state lawmakers in recent years targeting the Muslim community.
Perhaps you remember state question 755, introduced in 2010, which sought to ban Oklahoma courts from using Shariah law in their court decisions.
Though passed, higher courts have since ruled the state question unconstitutional.
It saddens me to see that the Muslim community in Oklahoma is once again being singled out by the fearmongering tactics of our state’s legislators.
Is it too much to ask that Oklahoma cease to be the subject of national ridicule for at least one legislative session?
I dream of the day that I won’t see our legislators lampooned on The Daily Show.
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