Free Republic

A proposal that would prohibit private entities from banning firearms in parks, recreational areas or fairgrounds in Oklahoma could threaten dozens of events held in Oklahoma City, including horse shows, basketball tournaments and the Women’s College World Series, the head of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday. Chamber President Roy Williams said he’s urging the governor to veto the measure, which is headed to the governor’s desk after passing the Senate Tuesday on a 39-7 vote. “We could potentially lose Women’s College World Series. We could lose all the Big 12 NCAA sporting events. We could potentially lose...

Churchgoers were upset Sunday morning when they discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary vandalized with black spray paint.The defacement of the shrine at St. Thomas More University Parish and Student Center, 100 E Stinson, near the University of Oklahoma, likely happened overnight.Those in attendance were shocked by the vandalism and offended by a sign left on the statue, church officials said.“It was very disturbing to a lot of people and very deliberate,” said Lisa Schmidt, administrative assistant to the pastor.“As a parishioner and as a Catholic, I would invite them to learn more about why we revere the Mother...

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a constitutional challenge to Oklahoma’s lethal-injection drug protocol, which last April left a man writhing in agony on the killing table for 43 minutes. In the spectacularly botched execution, the condemned man, Clayton Lockett, first received an untested sedative, midazolam, but it failed to knock him out. As prison officials scrambled to pump the deadly drugs into his veins, he awoke, tried to sit up and said, “The drugs aren’t working,” before finally succumbing to a heart attack. After that debacle, Gov. Mary Fallin of Oklahoma ordered an independent review of the state’s...

From crime to labor issues to an intricate military coup of the entire United States, conspiracy theories are flying around the closed Wal-Mart supercenters in Tulsa and elsewhere. The official reason for the sudden closure of the store at Admiral Place and Memorial Drive last week was two years of plumbing issues that would take six months to fix. That was the same reason given for each of the four other Wal-Mart locations, which all closed at the same time with just a few hours’ notice. The other stores are in Brandon, Florida; Pico Rivera, California; Midland, Texas; and Livingston,...

In November of 2011, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake ripped through the small Oklahoma town of Prague, damaging more than a dozen homes and toppling a turret on a St. Gregory's University building in nearby Shawnee. It was the worst of three large quakes to strike the area over several days, and it still as ranks as the worst Oklahoma has ever experienced. Since then, hundreds more have rattled the state, racking up millions of dollars in damages and unleashing a political and financial maelstrom. Until 2008, Oklahoma typically had one or two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater per year,...

The state House defeated a resolution Tuesday that would have added Oklahoma to the list of states petitioning Congress for a convention to alter the U.S. Constitution. Senate Joint Resolution 4, which failed 42-56, was intended to have the state participate in a convention that may propose “amendments to the United States Constitution that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the term of office for its officials and members of Congress.” Rep. Gary Banz, R-Midwest City, said the imperative to balance the federal budget outweighs the numerous questions...

Abandoning years of official skepticism, Oklahoma’s government on Tuesday embraced a scientific consensus that earthquakes rocking the state are largely caused by the underground disposal of billions of barrels of wastewater from oil and gas wells.The state’s energy and environment cabinet introduced a website detailing the evidence behind that conclusion Tuesday, including links to expert studies of Oklahoma’s quakes. The site includes an interactive map that plots not only earthquake locations, but also the sites of more than 3,000 active wastewater-injection wells.The website coincided with a statement by the state-run Oklahoma Geological Survey that it “considers it very likely” that...

Wal-Mart closures have citizens concerned. Jade Helm 15 is set to kick off in seven states this summer, sending Special Operations forces from all four main branches of the military onto civilian soil to conduct hostile take-over training – and civil-rights advocates are sounding the alarms. ... The looming Jade Helm exercise, set for July 15 through Sept. 15, labels Texas and Utah as hostile areas. Global Research also reported the military says New Mexico “isn’t much friendlier.” Other states participating: California, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada. Some of the social media commentary so far: “The Pentagon’s ‘Operations Jade Helm 15′:...

Yesterday, Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin signed into law a bill that approves the use of nitrogen gas for executions in the state. The method, which would effectively asphyxiate death row inmates by forcing them to breathe pure nitrogen through a gas mask, is meant to be the primary alternative to lethal injection, The Washington Post reports. Fallin and other supporters of the procedure say it's pain-free and effective, noting that the nitrogen would render inmates unconscious within ten seconds and kill them in minutes. It's also cheap: state representatives say the method only requires a nitrogen tank and a gas...

Bill Clinton has paid tribute to the resilience of the Oklahoman people on the 20th anniversary of the worst homegrown terrorist attack America has ever seen. (snip) Twenty years later, former president Clinton addressed hundreds of people gathered at the site of the federal building to commemorate the dead, hailing the city as an example to the world of a strong and compassionate community. (snip) 'I prepared for this day yesterday in New York by taking Hillary to see our daughter and son-in-law and my about to be seven-month-old grandchild. 'Hillary and I bathed her and fed her and put...

(CNN)—Twenty years ago, on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a massive truck bomb in front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The attack killed 168 men, women and children, injured hundreds more, and remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. The attack's aftermath saw a storm of media coverage with themes such as "attack on the heartland" and America's "lost innocence." In fact, the bombing took the country by surprise. It wasn't simply the scale of the tragedy that drew attention, but the fact that the bombing exposed something new: American citizens targeting their...

CLEVELAND COUNTY, Okla. —The fight to let Oklahomans carry their guns to the Norman Music Festival is over. A judge decided that licensed gun owners will be allowed to carry their guns to this year’s music festival without fear of being asked to leave, or being ticketed, and that the city of Norman cannot enforce their "no guns" request. "It’s really disappointing," Peaches Amspacher said. "I worry about what’s going to happen to the Norman Music Fest now.” Amspacher came to the courthouse Friday in hopes that she would see guns banned from the Norman Music Festival. But now, for...

Complete Headline: Oklahoma legalizes execution by GAS CHAMBER: State will kill prisoners with 'foolproof, fast and painless' nitrogen if lethal injection isn't possible Oklahoma introduced a law allowing it to use nitrogen gas to kill death row prisoners if lethal injections aren't available. Governor Mary Fallin signed into law a bill approving nitrogen as an alternative method of death, giving Oklahoma four different ways to enact its death penalty. The method, which involves pumping a chamber full of nitrogen and leaving a prisoner's body to die from lack of oxygen, has been touted as 'foolproof' by supporters, in the wake...

A drunken argument over whether Android or Apple smartphones were superior turned violent early today when two Oklahoma roommates began assaulting each other during the bloody telecommunications debate. According to Tulsa police, Jiaro Mendez and Elias Acevedo were outside their apartment around 1 AM when their phone quarrel moved to the stabbing stage. As they tussled in a parking lot, Acevedo allegedly struck Mendez in the back of the head with a beer bottle. When cops subsequently apprehended Acevedo, he was “covered in blood” and “also had several lacerations on his body from the fight.” Both men were treated for...

The closures could last up to six months and affect roughly 2,200 workers in Texas, California, Oklahoma, and Florida, CNN Money reports. Wal-Mart employees say they were completely blindsided by the news, having been notified only a couple hours before the stores closed at 7 p.m. Monday. "Everybody just panicked and started crying," Venanzi Luna, a manager at a store in Pico Rivera, California, told CNN Money. All workers will receive paid leave for two months. After that, full-time workers could become eligible for severance, according to CNN Money. But part-time workers will be on their own. Local officials and...

In our federal system, states should be able to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Friday joined an amicus brief on behalf of 57 members of Congress in support of the right of states to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The brief was filed in four cases that the Supreme Court will jointly hear on April 28, 2015, in which same-sex couples challenge the marriage laws of Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky, all of which were upheld by the U.S....

A bill that sets up a regulatory framework in Oklahoma for ridesharing programs such as Uber and Lyft passed the state Senate on Wednesday, but not before a provision protecting gay and transgender passengers from discrimination was removed. The version of the "Oklahoma Transportation Network Company Services Act" that passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 35-11 vote defines such companies as those that use a digital network or software application to connect passengers and drivers. The House-passed version of the bill included language that prohibited the companies from discriminating against customers based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But Sen....

<p>EDMOND, Oklahoma - The Oklahoma chapter of Council on American-Islamic relations wants state and federal law enforcement to investigate after bacon strips were found wrapped on the door handles of an Edmond mosque.</p>

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...

Oklahoma is poised to become the first state in the nation to allow the use of nitrogen gas to execute inmates under a plan given final legislative approval on Thursday and now headed to the governor’s desk. Without a single dissenting vote, the Oklahoma Senate approved legislation that would allow the new method to be used if lethal injection is ruled unconstitutional or if the deadly drugs become unavailable. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin is a staunch supporter of the death penalty, but her spokesman declined to comment on the measure Thursday. Executions are on hold in Oklahoma while the U.S....