Injunction to be Issued by Judge Today on Oklahoma's New Ultrasound Law

Oklahoma County District Judge Noma Gurich has told attorneys she will issue an injunction later this afternoon to stall implementation of Oklahoma's new ultrasound law. The law was approved by a three-fourths vote of the Oklahoma Legislature last week, not withstanding the prior veto of Gov. Brad Henry.

Oklahoma's three abortion clinics had reportedly been complying with the law, which required ultrasounds and descriptions to women of the gestational development of their unborn children prior to any abortion, but their compliance will no longer be required once the injunction takes effect later today.

Judge Gurich's injunction will remain in place pending the outcome of litigation by pro-life and pro-abortion forces regarding the constitutionality of HB 2780, to begin later this year.

Glenn Beck, David Barton to Devote TV Time to America's Founders

Broadcaster Glenn Beck is introducing a new series on his Fox News Channel TV program beginning tomorrow: Founding Father's Friday. David Barton, president of Wallbuilders in Aledo, Texas, will be Glenn's guest each Friday. This Friday (April 30) learn more about the amazing Samuel Adams, who once said: "Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men."

Don't miss it every Friday at 4 p.m. only on the Fox News Channel!

Also, a previous blog entry (click here) described the upcoming excellent series of lectures on The Founders' Legacy of Freedom by OCPA Senior Fellow Dr. J. Rufus Fears. These lectures will be presented each Monday in May beginning at 6 p.m., in the Hardemann Auditorium, inside the Garvey Center, on the Oklahoma Christian University campus in Edmond/north OKC. The first lecture starts this next Monday, May 3rd.

You'll want to take advantage of these wonderful opportunities to learn more about America's Founding Fathers!

Oklahoma House Votes to Override Gov. Henry's Vetoes

A bipartisan group of Oklahoma House members voted overwhelmingly today to override two gubernatorial vetoes of pro-life bills.


Gov. Brad Henry vetoed two pro-life bills Friday, and the House voted to override at the first opportunity Monday.

“I am proud that the House moved quickly in support of the sanctity of life by overriding the veto of these important pieces of pro-life legislation. This is clearly not a partisan issue,” said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. “We must move to stop the degradation of human life seen in recent years and stand up for those who cannot defend themselves.”

House Bill 2780, by state Rep. Lisa Billy, requires that doctors provide women information obtained from an ultrasound prior to performing an abortion.

Although ultrasounds are already routinely conducted immediately prior to an abortion, those pictures and the information obtained from the ultrasound are not provided to women.

“This legislation does nothing more than give women as much information as possible before they make the life-altering decision to have an abortion,” said Billy, R-Purcell. “I don’t want a single woman to go through the life-long torture of having an abortion without having all the relevant information.”

Research has shown that many women, after seeing an ultrasound, will opt to have a child. The House voted 81-14 to override the governor’s veto, which was above the three-fourths vote required.

The House also voted to override the veto of House Bill 2656, by state Rep. Dan Sullivan, which makes it illegal to sue a doctor claiming “wrongful birth” because the doctor failed to convince the mother to abort a child.

“This bill simply states that a doctor cannot be sued based on the opinion after birth that a child would have been better off if he or she had been aborted,” said Sullivan, R-Tulsa. “A bipartisan coalition of members supported this bill the first time, and I am pleased they did again today.”

The House voted to override the veto 84-12, again well above the three-fourths of the body required to override.

Both bills will return to the Senate for override consideration.

(Source: Oklahoma House Media Division)

Gov. Brad Henry Considers Pro-Life Bills

Gov. Brad Henry is now considering whether to support or veto several pro-life bills, which recently were passed in the state Senate. The governor's phone number is (405) 521-2342.

Although he recently supported three other pro-life bills in early April, it is unclear what he will do this time. Of course, pro-life Oklahomans hope he will support these bills, too. But, if he chooses to veto the latest round of bills, an attempt to override his veto will be attempted.

The following Senate Democrats voted for the bills, and their support to override any veto may be needed:

Sen. Randy Bass - District 32 - Lawton

Sen. Sean Burrage - District 2 - Claremore
Sen. Kenneth Corn - District 4 - Poteau
Sen. Mary Easley - District 18 - Tulsa
Sen. Jerry Ellis - District 5 - Valliant
Sen. Earl Garrison - District 9 - Muskogee
Sen. Jay Paul Gumm - District 6 - Durant
Sen. Tom Ivester - District 26 - Elk City
Sen. Charlie Laster - District 17 - Shawnee
Sen. Susan Paddack - District 13 - Ada

Oklahomans for Life is encouraging Oklahomans to contact the above legislators to thank them for their past support and to encourage them to support any veto override attempt, should it become necessary.

Wisconsin Judge Declares National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional

The annual National Day of Prayer is May 6. Declared by President Harry S Truman in 1952 and set by Congress and President Ronald Reagan in 1988 as the first Thursday of each May, the National Day of Prayer is a uniquely American day.

Five days ago, a federal district judge in Wisconsin declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional because it allegedly violates the supposed separation of church and state.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb (W.D.-Wis.) wrote, "the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision whether and when to pray.”

The judge's reasoning would surprise this nation's Founders, who, you will remember, at the urging of patriot and Massachusetts delegate Samuel Adams, then known as "the famous Adams," held an official two-hour prayer meeting during the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. It would surprise the entire House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, which officially set a Day of Prayer, Fasting, and Humiliation for its Virginia citizens, to stand alongside their Boston countrymen, when the British forces were first closing Boston harbor to enforce a blockade by King George, III.

It would also surprise the supposed Deist Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who offered an official resolution, which called for regular morning prayers to Almighty God as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia worked to draft our Constitution in 1787.

It would especially surprise Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and a host of other U.S. Presidents who have called for official National days of prayer and fasting throughout our 400-year history. It would also be a surprise to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who called for National prayer during the June 6th, 1944, D-Day invasion of Europe. Our entire history and nation is both an example and an answer to prayer.

Despite the judge's uncalled-for concerns about official acts by government, the National Day of Prayer is an entirely voluntary event. You are invited to pray -- not mandated to join your fellow citizens in prayer.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, honorary chairman of the National Day of Prayer, said, "No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in praying for our President, all of our elected leaders, and even for this unjust judge and all those who rule from the bench—that God would guide them and give them wisdom.”

You can attend the National Day of Prayer observance at the Oklahoma State Capitol on Thursday, May 6, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming May Lectures on The Founders' Legacy of Freedom

Our good friends at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs have just announced their Spring Lecture Series. The Series will be an outstanding five-part series of lectures by popular University of Oklahoma Professor and OCPA David and Ann Brown Senior Fellow Dr. J. Rufus Fears.

Dr. Fears' overall topic, which is so timely, will be The Founders' Legacy of Freedom. The first lecture will deal with the Declaration of Independence; the second week, the U.S. Constitution will be the focus of Dr. Fears' remarks. The Spring Lecture Series is appropriate for nearly everyone who loves American Liberty: parents, citizens, high school students, teachers, college students, patriots, Tea Party members, grandparents, reformed Progressives, etc. Best of all, the lectures will be free to the general public. Wow!

Dr. Fears has been named the most popular professor at O.U. by appreciative students three times. So, his treatment of this uniquely American topic will be a real treat for all who attend! Don't miss out.

One of Dr. Fears' lectures will be delivered on each of the five consecutive Monday evenings in May, 2010, and all will begin at 6 p.m., in the Garvey Center, Hardeman Auditorium, on the Oklahoma Christian University campus in north Oklahoma City, just off Memorial Road.

For more information, click here

Double Your Pleasure . . . at 2 State Capitol Tea Parties

Tonight, and again tomorrow, Oklahoma citizens will have the opportunity to participate in Tea Party rallies at the Oklahoma State Capitol, and across the state. According to Lincoln (and our founding documents), ours is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." If your schedule permits, please take advantage of these two opportunities to express your voice!

Wednesday Night Tea Party
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 (tonight!)
6:00 p.m. -- North side of the Oklahoma State Capitol


State Wide Tax Day Tea Party

Thursday April 15th, 2010 (tomorrow!)
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. -- South side of the Oklahoma State Capitol