OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Mike Hunter today released the following statement criticizing California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for banning state employee travel to Oklahoma.
“This action substitutes rhetoric for responsible adoption policy,” Attorney General Hunter said. “Oklahoma puts the interests of children ahead of political games. It is utterly undeniable that our state, like many others, needs more participants in the foster and adoption systems—not less.
“Senate Bill 1140 encourages increased participation by barring the type of discrimination we have seen in various parts of the country, like Massachusetts, where religious organizations like Catholic Charities have been excluded from the adoption field.”
Oklahoma is the ninth state the California attorney general has blacklisted. The addition of Oklahoma comes after the passage of Senate Bill 1140. The bill was signed into law last month and supported by overwhelming majorities in both the Oklahoma House and Senate.
The law is designed to encourage more groups, religious and otherwise, to participate in the state’s adoption and foster systems by protecting them from state-sanctioned discrimination on the basis of religious or moral convictions and policies. A diverse array of adoption and faith-based organizations supported SB 1140.