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Dahm issues statement responding to Treat’s ‘toddler’ and ‘crazy bills’ comments

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, on Thursday released the following statement in response to Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat’s continued name-calling and contention that Dahm’s legislation is “crazy.”

“Once again, when given the opportunity to speak freely, Senator Treat chose to denigrate fellow members of the Senate,” Dahm said. “But he also went beyond that, labeling legislation that wasn’t allowed a vote on the Senate floor ‘crazy.’ The job of every senator should be to fight for their constituents, not the lobbyists and special interest groups that fund their campaigns. I would point out that my constituents, Senator Treat’s constituents, and the majority of Oklahomans would not consider these bills crazy. The reality is that my bills would protect the Constitutional rights of the people but won’t give Senator Treat or any of his cronies more money or power, so I can understand why he would see that as ‘crazy’ when compared to his ‘leadership style’ and his focus.”

Dahm said the following is a list of bills that Senator Treat classified as “crazy”: 

  • A bill to prohibit foreign companies from purchasing the rights to Oklahoma’s land, air and water. 
  • A bill to prohibit hostile governments like China, Russia and Syria from being involved in education institutions in Oklahoma.  
  • A bill to require public reporting by law enforcement of any property they confiscate using civil asset forfeiture without charging the individual with a crime. 
  • A bill to require all federal funds to be included in budget numbers. 
  • A bill to designate places of worship as essential so they cannot be forcibly closed by the government (like we saw during the recent pandemic).
  • A bill to ensure those with a medical marijuana license can also legally get a concealed carry permit. 

To become eligible for a vote on the Senate floor, each of the bills listed above went through the committee process and received approval from a majority of the committee members, Dahm said.

“If I was a legislator in a hellhole state like California, it would be unsurprising if my legislation was considered ‘crazy’ by Senate leadership,” Dahm said. “However, I serve in the Senate of the reddest state in the Union. Our constituents cherish their freedoms and elected us to protect their Constitutional rights. Rights such as the right to self-defense – which my bill would further protect, freedom of religion – which my other bill would protect, or the right to face one’s accuser, to be told of the crime they are accused of, and not have their property stolen by the government – all rights which another one of my bills would have protected – are apparently just too ‘crazy’ for Senator Treat.”

“We must put the people of Oklahoma first,” Dahm said. “Senator Treat can try to spin his comments away, but it just further reveals how out of touch he is with the freedom-loving people of this great state. He doesn’t care about protecting their Constitutional rights, and he actually opposes those of us who will fight to protect those rights. He can call us ‘terroristic’ and ‘toddlers’ all he wants – tyrants like King George probably considered the American patriots crazy toddlers for standing up for the rights of the people as well.”

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For more information, contact Sen. Nathan Dahm at 405-521-5551 or email Nathan.Dahm@oksenate.gov