House Minority Leader Cindy Munson, D-OKC, offered that bouquet of bunk to Republican House members who debated for the so-called trans-banning legislation HB 2177.
As much as I respect and admire Leader Munson, I must offer a correction: Her Republican colleagues are not better than that since they have, as always, put politics above good policy by purposely pushing what they know is a proposal that will divide Oklahomans, endanger the health of a number of our citizens and is based on nothing more than a combination of ignorance and arrogance.
Predictably the party that claims devotion to a smaller, less intrusive form of government has decided to overrule the best medical practices available for trans individuals and also banned private insurance companies from even offering coverage for such care.
As pointed out during debate, why stop with medical procedures for these individuals?
One particularly disgusting House member, Rep. Jim Olsen, suggested relief for these Oklahomans could be found in Scriptures if they only looked. How about banning breast enhancements, nose jobs, facelifts, liposuction, butt re-arrangements and other physical changes to one’s body in order to enhance the mental and physical health of the people who receive such care and is often paid for by insurance, the cost of which all of us share through premiums?
No, Rep Munson. We both know the Republican lawmakers pushing this bill, HB 2177, and other similar suggestions, have simply adopted national proposals that certain groups, such as ALEC and OCPA, believe are political winners in the 2024 elections.
They are based on fear, ignorance, abject cruelty, among other disgusting traits, and proposed by people who currently but briefly hold power over others less well positioned to fight back.
Yesterday’s House debate was ugly, opportunistic and devoid of justification. It was filled with platitudes about caring for parents and children while stripping those individuals of not only their access to best medical practice – provided by real doctors – but even of their own personal insurance.
The vote to do this passed on a strict party line count of 80 Republicans yes, 18 Democrats no.
Not a single member of the entire Legislature is a medical professional, meaning a person who has actually attended and graduated from any college of medicine, anywhere in the world, but it didn’t stop these pontificating pols from acting like they had just come from surgery at the OU Health Sciences Center.
Well, they didn’t, but through their votes yesterday they surely will have blood on their hands in the future – only they won’t know it nor care a whit if they did.
