OKLAHOMA CITY -- One bill would make it a felony to enforce the new federal healthcare law, punishable by up to five years in prison. Another prohibits a physician from asking a patient about firearms. Yet another is designed to curb the possible influence of the United Nations in local government.
While provocative bills aren't particularly unusual in state legislatures, so many have been offered by conservatives in Oklahoma this year that GOP leaders have established a special committee to handle what is now a major category of business: measures to combat the federal government's influence in the states."This gives a platform for what I think are issues that are concerning to a lot of Oklahomans, and that's this continual overreach of the federal government," said House Speaker T.W. Shannon.Similar states' rights panels have been formed in Texas and Utah, which are also controlled by the GOP, and have been proposed in Alaska, Missouri and Tennessee.President Barack Obama's re-election last year, while a victory for the Democrats, has made the anti-federal cause a growth industry in states dominated by conservative Republicans. When legislatures reconvened this year, a flood of bills came forth to block enforcement of federal laws, deny authority to federal agencies and circumvent federal policies related to firearms, religion, the environment and healthcare.Even though many measures are legally questionable and may never come to a floor vote, the special committees are providing more public attention to sovereignty issues that were sidetracked in previous years.When the Oklahoma states' rights committee recently passed a bill that prohibits cities and counties from adopting any environmental recommendations in the United Nations' Agenda 21 plan, many of those in attendance burst into applause.Some Democrats say they don't know whether to be alarmed or amused."Where is Jay Leno when you need him?" said Rep. Mike Shelton of Oklahoma City, one of 29 Democrats in the 101-member state House. "If I didn't know this was reality, I would think this committee was something out of a movie."Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
