Contact: State Rep. Sally Kern
Capitol: (405) 557-7348
Oklahoma City: (405) 942-3504

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 6, 2006) – State Senate Democratic leaders turned their backs on Oklahoma families this week, refusing to help grandparents raising grandchildren or protect children from sexually explicit materials, State Rep. Sally Kern said today.

"When it comes to protecting children and helping Oklahoma families, House members put aside partisan differences and support common-sense measures," said Kern, R-Oklahoma City. "I am shocked Senate leaders will allow children to suffer because they think it is too much ‘work’ to vote on a few bills."

Two measures authored by Kern were killed in the Senate this week when they were not scheduled for a vote before the deadline on committee action.

House Bill 2430 would have made it easier for grandparents to become the legal guardian of an abandoned grandchild. The bill passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 100-0 vote.

House Bill 2158 would have required that children’s books containing homosexual content and pervasively vulgar and sexually explicit material be re-shelved in the adult area of the library. The bill passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 60-33.

"Oklahoma ranks second in the nation for grandparents raising grandchildren and they need help," Kern said. "House Bill 2430 would have given those grandparents greater consideration in the courts."

Under the provisions of House Bill 2430, "token" gifts or visits by a birth parent would not be considered a sign that the parent is supporting the child.

The bill would have made it easier for grandparents to obtain custody of a grandchild, something that is very difficult under current law.

"Right now, grandchildren must live with grandparents for 14 months before the adoption process can start," Kern said. "If during that time, a parent drops by or gives a child a $5 gift, the clock starts over on that 14-month process.

"These grandparents are saving the state a lot of money by caring for their grandchildren, but they can’t take the child to the doctor or to school if they don’t have custody. Not one person in the House opposed this bill, but Senate Democratic leaders didn’t think it was worth their time to help vulnerable children or heroic retirees."

Kern said the Senate’s failure to hear her library legislation will reduce local control of libraries and allow national organizations to determine what books are placed before Oklahoma children.

"Most libraries simply purchase books endorsed by the American Library Association and many of those books undermine local community values," Kern said. "House Bill 2158 would ensure that parents know the content of a book before a child is exposed to it. The bill would have increased both local and parental control, but the Senate has chosen to side with out-of-state liberal groups that want to expose little children to sexual content."

Polling indicates Kern’s shelving proposal has the support of 88 percent of Oklahoma voters. A statewide poll conducted in April 2005 by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass & Associates also found that 42 percent of Oklahoma voters supported banning books with homosexual or sexually explicit subject matter and 46 percent supported withholding public funding from libraries that fail to restrict access.