A group seeking to stop a new law that would allow people in Oklahoma to openly carry firearms without training or a background check is acknowledging they fell short of the number of signatures needed for a statewide vote on the issue. In a court filing on Thursday, an attorney for the group estimates they…Read More
The Oklahoma City council will be asked Tuesday to take a step toward limiting the proliferation of junk food in northeast Oklahoma City. The city manager is seeking authority to initiate an application, on the city’s behalf, to create a “healthy neighborhood overlay” zoning district within the boundaries of the 73111 ZIP code. Zoning terms…Read More
Attorney General Ken Paxton led a multistate coalition in an amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in support of faith-based child welfare organizations. Discriminating against faith-based organizations that partner with state agencies based on their religious beliefs would not only be a blatant violation of the Constitution’s religious liberty protections, it would…Read More
Almost 130 years ago, Pope Leo XIII published the encyclical Rerum Novarum. In this text, he defended the well-being of workers and made the Catholic Church’s position on work clear: Work and working people have a fundamental dignity that all societies are bound to respect and serve. “No man,” the pope wrote, “may with impunity…Read More
The Kentucky Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Friday in the case of a Christian business owner who is facing punishment for declining to print shirts for an LGBT Pride festival because of his faith. “The right to decide which ideas to express is core to human freedom. The Commission violated that freedom by ordering…Read More
For decades, two Ada men insisted from prison that they did not kidnap and murder a convenience store clerk in 1984 despite their confessions to police. They claimed their admissions came from a dream. Those innocence claims attracted renewed national attention when the true-crime documentary series, “The Innocent Man,” debuted on Netflix last December. Now,…Read More
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops is pleading for Gov. Ron DeSantis to stop the execution of Gary Ray Bowles, who confessed to murdering six men during a six month period in 1994. “As we approach the date of Gary Ray Bowles’ scheduled execution, we urge you to grant a stay,” said an Aug. 14…Read More
The White House announced on Wednesday that it would look to terminate court-approved limits on detention of migrant children and families, allowing for indefinite detention. The announcement drew strong criticism from a leading Catholic immigration group. “These changes would expand the number of children who will be detained and are in direct opposition to the…Read More
Gov. Kevin Stitt is pushing for Glen Johnson, Oklahoma’s longtime higher education chancellor, to be replaced. “Oklahomans hired me to put a fresh set of eyes on everything in state government,” the governor said Tuesday. “And the fact of the matter is, the chancellor has been there for 12 years — he’s been in government…Read More
Planned Parenthood will be foregoing as much as $60 million annually from a federal family planning program that will carry new anti-abortion rules. “Planned Parenthood is still open. We are continuing to fight this rule in court,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president of Planned Parenthood, said in a call with reporters Monday. She said…Read More