Oklahoma Rifle Association Names Coffee as Top Legislator

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee was recently selected as the 2009 Legislator of the Year by the Oklahoma Rifle Association (ORA).
Founder of the Sportsman Caucus in the Senate and member of the ORA, Coffee is an avid hunter and has consistently supported and even authored legislation that values the right to bear arms. Coffee said he was honored to receive such an award and looked forward to the future.

Oklahomans want their ideals and values to be protected and fought for, and recognizing the importance of our rights in bearing arms is crucial, said Pro Tem Coffee. Over the nearly 11 years I have been in the Senate, I have defended the rights of Oklahomans to not only bear arms, but also to hunt and fish in our great state. And, as the future unfolds, I am confident Oklahoma will continue moving forward.

The ORA held an awards banquet last weekend where Coffee was presented his award.

From the first day he stepped in the Oklahoma Senate Chamber, Senator Coffee has stood solidly in support of the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, said Charles H. Smith, ORA Executive Director. There are those who say they support gun owner rights, but when it becomes unpopular or inconvenient, they step aside. Not so with this gentleman.

During the last session, for example, he authored two bills of significant importance in the right of self defense. Earlier ORA had spoken with him and detailed the need for new legislation, and under his guidance these proposals were enacted and became a part of our law.

Among Coffees bills resulting in ORA recognition was a proposed constitutional amendment in 2008 which was approved by citizens to protect the right to hunt and fish. He was also principal author of a measure in the 2009 session ensuring a mothers right to protect her unborn child.