For Immediate Release: March 19, 2010

Sen. Steve Russell submitted the following letter to the editor in response to an article in the Tulsa World.

A Question of Accuracy

To the Editor:

I would like to address several inaccuracies contained in a recent editorial, “A Question of Fairness.” The piece claimed that my bill prohibits state authorities from requesting aid from the Federal government on hate crimes, but nothing in the bill at all would prohibit such requests by state law enforcement. It also does not exclude any Federal language. This bill protects speech and delineates what measures state law enforcement can take in cases that are involuntarily usurped.

The new federal hate crime law states that speech, belief and assembly would not be the ‘sole’ basis for the prosecution of a crime. Anyone who believes in the first amendment should be concerned that these fundamental rights could be a basis at all for prosecution when not directly related to the commission of a crime. My legislation simply clarifies that unless speech, belief or assembly is directly related to the planning or commission of an actual crime, it will not be admissible in Oklahoma courts under the Oklahoma Hate Crimes laws.

SB 1965 defines what constitutes criminal speech under Oklahoma’s law. It does not usurp Federal authority as some suppose. It does establish equal protections of all Oklahomans under the law with regard to their speech and religious views.

Senator Steve Russell
R-Oklahoma City
Senate District 45

For more information contact:
Sen. Russell: 405-521-5618