Decision Maker
Oklahoma State House
The Oklahoma State House, located in Oklahoma City, is a stunning embodiment of neoclassical architecture. Constructed in 1917, it serves as the meeting place for the state's bicameral legislature. Noteworthy for its grand exterior, it showcases a beautiful dome that is reminiscent of the United States Capitol, which wasn't added until 2002, nearly a century after the building's initial completion. Inside, it houses not only the legislative chambers, but also a variety of art exhibits including murals, statues and glasswork that embrace and celebrate Oklahoma’s cultural heritage. With its vast yet historic space, the Oklahoma State House stands as a powerful symbol of the state's governmental proceedings and rich history.
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- Responses (4)
- Petitions (265)
Please do not sell or close Oklahoma's State Parks. The Parks are what make Oklahoma great and beautiful and unique.Read more
7 years ago
Please do all you can to keep our parks open! They are so important to so many people.Read more
7 years ago
Our state parks are the best thing about Oklahoma. For heaven's sake, raise income taxes already and preserve our parks.Read more
7 years ago
I am as upset about the potential closing of these parks as all of you. This is due to the ongoing revenue shortfall we have experienced over the last two years. We had a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall last year and this year it's already at $900 million and could get worse. Consequently, all state agencies have been cut to the bone. But many Oklahoma House and Senate members aren't willing to enact a sound recurring revenue plan to address these massive cuts in state services. Let your House and Senate members know you WANT them to fund basic government services like operating these state parks and funding public education. If you don't take action today, these cuts will continue to occur. Read more about Oklahoma's state budget woes in the below article (link provided)Read more
7 years ago
Oklahoma State House, Oklahoma State Senate, Mary Fallin
Lauren Atkins bravely shared her story with the world in 2017. A story every parent hopes their child won’t have to face, but for many that’s all too familiar; Lauren was raped by a boy she knew from school. She was shocked to find out he had no idea what legal consent was.
In the fall of 2014, we organized the group Yes All Daughters and led a protest after multiple teenage girls in our hometown of Norman, OK were raped and bullied out of the same school Lauren attends. These are not isolated incidents.
Girls between 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. 44% of sexual assaults happen before the age of 18.
WE MUST FOCUS ON EDUCATION.
Statutory laws on consent are not enough to prevent rape. Educating teens about issues of consent and healthy relationships is essential to reversing the horrifying statistics.
Yes All Daughters has worked with Oklahoma lawmaker and former high school teacher, Representative Jacob Rosecrants, to introduce Oklahoma House Bill 1007- Lauren's Law- to address the need for consent and healthy relationship education.
When passed, it will allow for the development of age-appropriate programs on consent and healthy relationship behavior. These programs will teach students about consent and how to recognize and prevent relationship violence, including physical and emotional relationship abuse. It will also address relationship communication skills, emotional health, and accountability.
Federal funds are available for this consent and safe relationship education to be implemented at the state level through Title IV-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Under the last administration, the White House Council on Women and Girls Report estimated the cost of rape to be as high as $240,776 per incident, including medical services, investigations, loss of productivity, and quality of life. With the high cost of assault and federal funding available, there’s no excuse not to protect and educate our kids.
Let’s do this for Lauren, the young women we started our movement for, and all the survivors who hope for a better world.
SIGN OUR PETITION AND DEMAND THAT OKLAHOMA LAWMAKERS MAKE OUR CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND SAFETY A PRIORITY BY PASSING THIS IMPORTANT BILL.
EDUCATION IS PREVENTION. Call and email your legislators.
Stand with us against Sexual Violence. No more Silence. No more Shame.Read more
Stacey WrightNorman, OK, United States
74,143
1/15/18
Oklahoma State House, Oklahoma State Senate, Oklahoma Governor
The State of Oklahoma has decide to change the Branding of Oklahoma from our original shield brand that has so many years and generations worth of historical meaning and sentimental value to us, something that us Oklahomans are proud of and have replaced it with one that holds no significance to any citizen of the state! The very representation of our great state stands from our native American history and the connection we all shared through this history. By doing this I believe that the state officials are literally trying to delete a enormous part of our history. I'm asking all who read this petition to sign it and help us take our roots back! Read more
Jared CoffmanOklahoma, United States
40,790
2/16/20
Donald Trump, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Department of Veterans Affairs, Alabama State Senate, Alabama State House, Alabama Governor, Florida State Senate, Florida State House, Flo...
I’m Jenifer Bass, a U.S. Navy veteran, who served for 10 years, one-third in the Asia-Pacific region. It was due to my travel between ports in countries like Japan and Thailand that I first encountered amerasian children, and descendants, of U.S. service members and civilian contractors previously stationed overseas. Filipino Amerasians are abandoned and neglected biracial children of Filipino mothers and American fathers (mostly members of the US armed forces).
In the Philippines alone, more than 52,000-plus children were born and left behind after the U.S. Navy withdrew the last of its military personnel in 1992. Right now, the U.S. government won’t legally recognize them as U.S. citizens, despite having been born to an American parent. The Philippine Embassy won't help them either.
As a former US colony between 1898 and 1946, the Philippines was home to millions of US soldiers and their dependents, even after its independence. Until 1992, the country hosted two of the largest US military facilities outside the US – Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base, which played major roles during the Vietnam and first Gulf wars.
In 1982 US Public Law 97-359, or the Amerasian Act of 1982, allowed children from Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, or Thailand to move to the US and eventually become American citizens, but those who were from the Philippines were excluded from the law, an exclusion which was upheld by the US Senate on the basis that many Filipino Amerasians were “conceived from illicit affairs and prostitution”, and were born during peacetime. Today, there are estimated to be more than 250,000-plus children.
Many amerasians are caught in a no-man’s land of discrimination and poverty -- most left behind by U.S. service members who are unaware that they’ve fathered children overseas. My friend John Haines is one of these sailors. In 2011, John discovered he was the father of a half-Filipino daughter, Jannette. He attempted to unite with her through the American Homecoming Act -- but was frustrated to learn that the Act did not apply to Filipino children of U.S. service members.
Today, all John wants is to be united with his daughter and grandchildren. He, like so many other veterans are living with a “hole in their hearts” as they search for ways to unite with their children. There is hope. The Uniting Families Act of 2018, HR 1520, creates a specialized visa allowing military veterans and eligible civilian contractors to sponsor their children and grandchildren for U.S. citizenship. Currently, blood relationship must be proven by DNA test and the total number of visas granted will be capped at 5,000 each year.
The issue takes on more urgency as so many of our veterans from our wars in Southeast Asia are getting older and dying each day -- without the chance to connect, or in some cases, reconnect with their own children.
John’s daughter Jannette has already undertaken the DNA testing process, conclusively proving her relationship to her American father. All she’s waiting for is the opportunity to permanently unite with her father.
There is a PBS documentary, "Left by the Ship" (2010), documenting a day in the life and the personal struggles as a Filipino amerasian on the never ending search for identity and their struggles to connect to their American military families.
Please sign this petition to tell Congress that these families cannot wait another day. Pass the Uniting Families Act of 2017, HR 1520, now!Read more
Jenifer BassMilton, FL, United States
34,700
10/23/16
Judge Michael Tupper, Oklahoma State House, Oklahoma State Senate
In November 2021, Rebecca Hogue was convicted of first degree murder for the death of her toddler son, Ryder, even though he was killed by Christopher Trent while she was at work. Now she is facing life in prison after two years of living a nightmare since her son’s death on January 1, 2020.
Following the actual murderer’s death by suicide, District Attorney Greg Mashburn and Assistant District Attorney Pattye High turned their attention to Rebecca— a single hardworking mother. They charged Rebecca with first degree murder under Oklahoma’s Failure to Protect law for allowing child abuse even though Rebecca did not abuse her child or know he was in harm’s way. The lead police investigator in the case called the charges against Rebecca “bullshit” and did not recommend her being charged.
The DA and ADA’s entire case rested on whether Rebecca should have “reasonably known” about the abuse. But, the abuse unfolded over a very short period of time and Rebecca took Ryder to doctors who failed to see he was being abused while in Trent’s care. When Rebecca asked Trent about Ryder’s bruises, he gaslit her and lied and said the child had fallen down the stairs. If medical experts couldn’t diagnose abuse, how could a mother with a history of her own trauma see something was wrong?
During her trial, the lead investigator was not allowed to state his professional opinion that Rebecca should not have been charged. Nor was the jury told about Trent’s pre-suicide message stating Rebecca was innocent. And, they did not allow an expert in domestic violence to testify as to how Rebecca’s history of being a victim made her especially susceptible to Trent’s gaslighting. Without any of this key evidence, the jury convicted her. She now sits in solitary confinement awaiting her minimum life sentence in prison for murder, rather than spending these last two years healing from the unimaginable loss of precious Ryder who her friends called “her entire world.”
Oklahoma has some of the worst statistics for abuse of women and children. Failure to Protect and Rebecca’s conviction will result in fewer victims receiving help now that the court has ruled seeking medical attention or sending photos of bruises to the perpetrator asking how they happened can be used against a person in court. The law has repeatedly and disproportionately been used against mothers for their abusers' crimes. And, as seen in this case, DAs like Mashburn and High have no qualms with furthering harm against victims using state-sanctioned means. In fact, they claimed Rebecca was not a victim of abuse in spite of her child being abused and murdered by Trent, when there is no worse harm to a parent than their child’s murder at the hands of someone they entrusted.
We are demanding Rebecca’s full exoneration and release. We are demanding that lawmakers reverse Failure to Protect, so that those in power cannot use it to harm victims and those seeking help for abuse in Oklahoma.
Justice for Rebecca is Justice for Ryder.
Read more
Stacey WrightNorman, OK, United States
28,300
12/7/21
Mary Fallin, Oklahoma State House, Oklahoma State Senate, James Lankford, James Inhofe
The taxpayers of oklahoma no longer trust that our representatives have their best intrests at heart. Taxes continually go up and are promised to fund education, then funding is stripped from education and dissappears. Many oklahomans were promised that our tax dollars from lottery, rising property taxes, rising sales tax, and casinos would help fund our education system. It is now clear that our tax dollars have not gone to education and we want to know where it is.
It is time to audit the state. Publish a complete record of the budget and estimated tax revenues. Clearly describe where the revenue is being allocated.Read more
Ricky HogueOklahoma City, United States
17,368
4/4/18
Oklahoma pardon and parole board, Calvin Prince III, Mrs. Cathy Stocker, Judge Richard A Miller, Dr. Edward Konieczny, Richard Smothermon, Oklahoma State House, Joseph R. Biden, Kevin Stitt, Gentne...
19yr boy sentenced to DEATH BY INCARCERATION as a first time offender for a crime where no life was lost, No women or children were harmed and most importantly there is no evidence he was ever there!
A crime where no life was lost, with no documented evidence placing him at the crime scene, sentenced to 92yrs with no chance of parole. Winston Walters was just a teenager who had never been in trouble before when a home invasion robbery took place in Oklahoma, over a year after this crime happened, after the victims identified their nephew as being one of the perps with 99.9% positivity. A career criminal would got in trouble after robbing a church and having a stolen handgun from this robbery on him, telling police he obtained the stolen gun by robbing Walters shared home. Winston was on his way to becoming a star before this happened! he had starred in a reality tv show "mudcats", worked on American Idol season 12, and made a movie that was never released due to these allegations. Once his name was brought into this case it made headlines "Reality tv star arrested" "Former Mudcats star awaits sentencing", etc all of which can be found on google, but what you won't find on google are the FACTS and CORRUPTION of this case, this poor kid was railroaded by the system
*Victims identified their nephew with 99.9% certainty based on his height, voice, and mannerisms not to mention the perp knew his way around and even about the couple's phones giving them the idea that the perp knew them personally and they had just repoed the nephew's truck and he had been kicked out of their sons home (his jimmy kit and pill bottle was found at the crime scene)
One of the lead investigators on this case had just been fired from another county for illegal activity
Evidence at trial was INSUFFICANT TO SUSTAIN THE STATES BURDEN OF PROOF
The Trial Judge had a bias from the start, a few years before this case his father in law was murderd in a similar manner (home invasion) not knowing this fact until AFTER the trial, Walters was deprived of his right to a fair and impartial Trial, TRIAL JUDGE IN VIOLATION OF DUE PROCESS
improper handling of evidence, said evidence was still allowed in courts although no one knew where they came from and when asked at trial the statements were contradicting to one another. while investigators agreed to mishandeling the evidence and improperly documenting evidence
All of the states "witnesses" that they used to place Winston at the crime were not only older, they had criminal records, all were looking at time and 99% of them got NO TIME thanks to their testimony. EVEN THOUGH ONE WAS LITERALLY PICKED UP FROM A COLORADO JAIL AND BROUGHT BACK TO OKLAHOMA. All of these people stood by Walters innocence until lengthy interigations were done and the opportunity to save themselves from doing time was thrown in their faces. one of these ppl went to court an was looking at 100yrs while maintaining Walters innocence, after being on suicide watch and on record for saying he "would rather die then get a whole bunch of time" his story changed and brought Walters into it.
None of the states witnesses told the same stories, they were all seen lying and contradicting one another IN BIG WAYS (the truth doesn't change much in a story no matter who is telling it.)
IN VIOLATION with the 6 and 14 AMENDMENT Walters received constitutionally ineffective assistance of councel. Walters was never able to TESTIFY ON HIS BEHALF. A teenager listening to what his lawyer told him to do. To this day its been one of his biggest regrets
Walters would receive multiple punishments for a single course of conduct
The courts decision to run sentences CONSECUTIVELY was an abuse of descretion and constitutes an EXCESSIVE SENTENCE.
Lack of jurisdiction, Walters is a member of the Comache Nation, the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over this case.and much more not listed. PLEASE help save his life! This case need to be reexamined from an unbias lens we are DEMANDING he be freed immediately or be retried by his tribe! His realease date is 2107! This is a disgusting abuse of power from Oklahoma court system. Oklahoma leads the nation in mass incarceration and excessive sentences in cases that dont call for it. WE CANT STAND BY AND LET HIM BE ANOTHER STATISTIC TO A CORRUPT SYSTEM! We all know that not all judges or cops, investigators, or witnesses are bad, bias or corrupt, Unfortunatly for Walters he was dealt a bad hand.This is not the story of a 19 TEEN year old career criminal who was so terrible he needs to be locked away forever, this is tragic proof that the judicial system still needs ALOT OF WORK, to stop our Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans and other minorities from being a victim of it. Helping one is a step to helping us all. Even incarcerated he's spent the past 10yrs trying to better himself, going to college and making handmade leather crafts, so that one day when he is free he will be a positive impact on society.
" Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I dont believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others." Coretta Scott King.
We are asking that winston be freed IMMEDIATELY, 10yrs of his life has already been taken by the prison system. He deserves a chance to live before more decades are lost. Time is the most precious thing humans have, I dont know how people sleep at night knowing they took his life from him before he ever got a chance to actually live. PLEASE BRING WINSTON HOME
Read more
Shanoa MitchellCalifornia, United States
16,707
11/21/22
President of the United States, Alabama State Senate, Alabama State House, Alaska State Senate, Alaska State House, Arkansas State House, Arkansas State Senate, California State Senate, California ...
The Earth has been around for almost 5 billion years, with us modern humans evolving only about 200,000 years ago. In the 0.004% of our planet's total lifetime that we have been around for, we have managed to rip up around 46% of the trees worldwide in our luscious forests, pollute our majestic oceans and the almost-extinct coral reefs, and drive countless species to extinction.
In fact, before the evolution of humans, less than 1 species per million went extinct annually; today, a devastating rate of 100-1,000 species per million are lost every year. We are destroying our planet faster than we can process the changes. These deaths are directly linked to habitat destruction by the hands of humans and climate change.
According to the International Panel on Climate Change, "To keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5C this century, emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut by 45% by 2030."
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder of the Potsdam Climate Institute, states that the climate may become irreparable if we don't reduce carbon dioxide emmisions in the next 18 months. We must act now, if we have any hope of preserving this planet for future generations to come.
Our climate is in a crisis. The U.S. federal government, one of the largest and most influential democratic governments in the world, must declare a climate crisis IMMEDIATELY. Chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, Tanya Steele puts it clearly: "We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it." Sign this petition to stand alongside us, and our planet. We are the ones who must save our Earth. The time is now!
Cover photo by NASARead more
Our Climate CrisisLos Angeles, CA, United States
9,849
7/28/19
Oklahoma State Senate, Oklahoma State House, Oklahoma Governor, James Lankford
Making horses pull oversized loads like carriages is cruel. Horses are forced to toil in all weather extremes, dodge traffic, and pound the pavement all day long. They may develop respiratory ailments because they breathe in exhaust fumes, and they can suffer debilitating leg problems from walking on hard surfaces.
Accidents Waiting to Happen
Horses are sensitive and skittish animals. Animals and people have been seriously hurt—and even killed—when horses have become spooked and run amok.
There have also been countless incidents in which carriages have been hit by impatient or careless drivers. Accidents have occurred in nearly every city where carriage rides are allowed.
“There is no way that cities, with their exhaust fumes, hard road surfaces, and busy traffic patterns can provide a humane … environment for a carriage horse.”—Veterinarian Holly CheeverAbused ‘Til Their Dying Day
Horses are afforded no protection under the federal Animal Welfare Act, so the responsibility of looking out for their welfare falls to local animal-control officials. But anti-cruelty laws provide few safeguards to horses, and many humane agencies just don’t have the resources or the time to monitor horse-drawn carriages on a regular basis. Animals can easily be overworked when profit-driven operators fail to follow regulations.
In Charleston, South Carolina, for example, drivers are supposed to take the rectal temperature of horses after a tour when the temperature reaches 85 degrees or above, to determine if they can keep working.
In St. Augustine, Florida, horses don’t have to be pulled from service until either the ambient temperature reaches a sweltering 95 degrees or the heat index reaches 105.
Philadelphia has no regulations pertaining to heat for animal-drawn carriages.
And there are no laws preventing old, injured, or spent horses from being sent to slaughter. Horses are considered property under the law, so owners can dispose of them in any way that they want. Since many may consider it cost-prohibitive to care for an animal who isn’t bringing in any revenue, the fate of discarded horses is grim.
What You Can Do
If you live in a city where carriage rides are still allowed, contact your local legislators to ask if they will sponsor a ban. Many cities—including Biloxi, Mississippi; Camden, New Jersey; Key West, Palm Beach, Pompano Beach, and Treasure Island, Florida; and Salt Lake City—have already banned horse-drawn carriages.
credit to peta. Read more
Paige BriggsOklahoma City, United States
9,376
12/27/19
Oklahoma State House
Oklahoma law makers have introduced a new bill that would make it a felony to provide gender affirming surgeries and medical treatment to anyone under the age of 21. Such treatment can alleviate gender dysphoria and postpone puberty, allowing children time to explore their gender identity. The bill would also punish parents, doctors, and even children with penalties of up to life in prison. This takes autonomy from young adults, and would be detrimental to the movement for transgender rights.Read more
Rowan JensenOklahoma city, OK, United States
9,486
1/26/21
Oklahoma State House, Oklahoma State Senate, Oklahoma Citizens
Governor Kevin Stitt has allowed the Coronavirus to spread unimpeded in the state of Oklahoma. He refuses to shut down the state, and it is costing us more Oklahoma lives every day. He has neglected his duty as governor, and placed our state in an untenable position.
He maliciously expanded the list of essential businesses in Oklahoma, straying from the list put out by the Critical Infrastructure section of the United States Department of Health and Safety. He has put economic interests ahead of Oklahoma lives and must be held accountable.
Not only did he go against the advice of scientists and experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci, but he encouraged Oklahomans to continue living life as normal despite mounting evidence that this was an unacceptable course of action.
Kevin Stitt has failed this state as a governor, leader, and authority. Sign this petition to show our representatives that we want him held accountable. Read more
Jordan RiddlesTulsa, OK, United States
7,255
4/2/20