Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
For Immediate Release: March 15, 2010
Sen. Debbe Leftwich
Leftwich Bill to Give Domestic Violence Victims Greater Protection
Awaits House Action
Legislation to give additional
protection to domestic violence victims is now awaiting action in
the House of Representatives. Senate Bill 2022, by Sen. Debbe
Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa, expands
current law by enabling victims to see exactly where their abusers
are via GPS.
Two years ago, Leftwich authored and passed legislation to allow
court-ordered GPS tracking of domestic abusers. Law enforcement
can access their location and determine if they are in violation
of any court orders regarding proximity to their victim.
“SB 2022 will empower victims of domestic violence by giving
them access to that same information,” Leftwich said. “They
can get online and see exactly where their abuser is in real time.
Victims can also obtain an electronic device that will warn them
if their abuser approaches within a certain distance.”
Leftwich stressed the legislation would not have any fiscal impact
on the state, the victim or even the abuser—however it could
prevent further abuse.
“Overwhelmingly, the victims of domestic violence are women
and children who are stalked and intimidated by their abuser,”
Leftwich said. “A protective order from a court is a piece
of paper that does nothing to actually prevent future attacks—but
if the victim can see where her abuser is and avoid that location,
or alert law enforcement if necessary, then I believe we can give
greater protection to victims of domestic violence.”
SB 2022 has been formally introduced in the House. The next step
will be for the bill to be assigned to and heard by a House committee.
For more information contact:
Sen. Leftwich: 405-521-5557

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