Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmaker whose bill bans Pride flags also penned ban on race topics in classrooms
OKC Pride Alliance hosts parade downtown
The Oklahoma City Pride Alliance hosted their annual parade in downtown OKC on Sunday.
Alonzo Adams, For The Oklahoman
This week, a bill that would ban state agencies from displaying pride flags or using funds to observe Pride Month has drawn support from conservative voters and criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates.
The bill is authored by Rep. Kevin West, R-Oklahoma City, the same lawmaker who also authored the controversial House Bill 1775, the so-called critical race theory ban, that bans the teaching of certain racial and gender topics in Oklahoma classrooms.
Here’s everything we know about West’s bill history and recent projects.
Who is Kevin West?
West was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2016 to House District 54 in Oklahoma City.
He graduated from Douglass High School and studied construction at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before opening a cabinet shop in Oklahoma City.
In his biography on the House website, West said he’s committed to making the state a safe place to raise children, run businesses and forge a future.
What is the ‘Patriotism Not Pride Act’?
The “Patriotism Not Pride Act”, or HB 3217, would ban state agencies from displaying pride flags or using funds to observe Pride Month.
The bill seeks to prohibit state agencies from displaying flags that represent sexual orientation or gender identity on state property, and would ban state agencies from using any funds ― federal or private — to develop, administer, engage in, promote or endorse any activity that aims to promote or recognize Pride Month or any event with a similar theme.
When the bill was heard by the State Powers Committee Wednesday, West said he’d seen banners on state agency websites promoting Pride Month, which is why he felt the bill was necessary.
What is House Bill 1775?
In 2021, West authored HB 1775, which bans eight race and gender concepts from public school classrooms and prohibits mandatory diversity training at universities.
The bill faces a lawsuit filed by a group of students, teachers, activists and college professors, with attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The challengers said the law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution by stifling speech and discriminating against minority and LGBTQ+ students.
Will the ‘Pride Not Patriotism Act’ face a lawsuit?
After HB 3217 passed the State Powers Committee, Cindy Nguyen, policy director of ACLU of Oklahoma, said West should be familiar with the lengths the ACLU of Oklahoma is willing to go to protect against viewpoint-based censorship, referencing the lawsuit against HB 1775.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma lawmakers ask Supreme Court to let customers join ONG rate hike case
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
Oklahoma
Most Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election
Just 26%, or about one in four registered Oklahoma voters, cast a ballot in the race, according to an analysis of the results.
In total, 630,085 people weighed in on a state question to gradually increase the minimum wage. It was the only race open to Democrats, Republicans and independents, who weren’t eligible to vote in partisan races.
Democrats have typically opened their closed primaries to include independents, but failed to submit the paperwork for this year’s primaries on time. Some voters expressed frustration with the system on election day.
This year’s polls drew fewer voters than in 2018, the last time there was a similar gubernatorial race without incumbents. The election included a state question to approve medical marijuana, and 44% of registered voters cast ballots.
There are almost 1.3 million registered Republicans in Oklahoma, but the GOP race for governor only garnered about 400,000 ballots. Out of more than 613,000 registered Democrats, only about 172,000 voted in Tuesday’s election.
Even though general elections are usually better attended, Oklahoma’s numbers were also low during the 2024 presidential election. One report from the University of Florida rated Oklahoma’s turnout at the time as the lowest in the nation.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Adds OF Adi Hansen From Southern Idaho
NORMAN — Oklahoma softball’s transfer portal activity may have been fairly slow developing.
But now, as the portal window nears its end, the Sooners have started having success.
Oklahoma added outfielder Adi Hansen, a standout at the College of Southern Idaho for the last two seasons on Thursday.
Hansen’s announcement, made on Instagram, followed shortly after Middle Tennessee outfielder Macie Harter announced her commitment to the Sooners.
Hansen led the Golden Eagles with a .457 batting average in 186 at bats in 2026, with an eye-popping 82 runs scored and a school-record 62 stolen bases on 67 attempts.
Hansen had 17 games with two or more stolen bases this season and twice had four stolen bases in a game.
Hansen had four triples and 21 RBIs, drawing 23 walks.
She earned NJCAA first-team All-America honors, helping her team finish 43-13 with a NJCAA Division I Juco World Series appearance.
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In 2025, as a freshman, Hansen hit .401 with 36 stolen bases and 62 ruyns scored.
Hansen is a Logan, Utah, product.
Hansen and Harter join a group of outfielders that includes Kai Minor in centerfield and Ella Parker in right field.
The Sooners lost Abby Dayton to graduation and Kasidi Pickering to transfer after the season. Pickering will reportedly transfer to Texas Tech.
Oklahoma finished 52-10 last season, missing the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015 after falling to Mississippi State in three games in the Norman Super Regional.
The Sooners have a strong incoming recruiting class and return a trio of pitchers — Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino and Allyssa Parker — as well as experienced hitters Kendall Wells, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas plus Minor and Ella Parker.
In addition to the departures of Dayton and Pickering, the Sooners also lost pitchers Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal, first baseman Isabela Emerling, and second baseman Ailana Agbayani to graduation. Outfielder Tia Milloy, pitcher Berkley Zache and utility player Riley Zache also entered the transfer portal.
Oklahoma’s incoming class includes Edmond Santa Fe pitcher Keegan Baker, Lakewood, Calif., infielder Ki’ele Ho-Ching, Mililani, Hawaii, infielder Ori Mailo, Fullerton, Calif., pitcher Malaya Majam-Finch, Katy, Texas, pitcher EK Smith, and Mesa, Ariz., outfilder Payton Westra.
Mailo was with the Sooners this season, redshirting after joining the program a year early.
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