IMPACT – Legislative Action
IMPACT – Legislative Action
—Tracking bills before the Oklahoma Legislature and keeping people informed so they can IMPACT the issues: Poverty, the Environment, Immigration, Education, and Criminal Justice. Click below to download the PDF file for each statement.
Theological Statement on Poverty
Theological Statement on Environment
Theological Statement on Immigration
Theological Statement on Education
Theological Statement on Criminal Justice
Also, click below to download the PDF files for recent letters from IMPACT to Oklahoma legislators regarding selected House and Senate Bills.
Letter to Legislators - HB 805 Related to Criminal Justice
Letter to Legislators – SB 591 & SB 19 Related to the Environment
Letter to Legislators – HB 1957 Related to the Environment
Letter to Legislators – HB 2131 and HB 1197 Related to Criminal Justice
OCC Immigration Statement in Spanish
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PRESS RELEASE
APRIL 12, 2011
OCC Statement on Immigration
As faith leaders from across Oklahoma, we unite our voices and urge our elected leaders to set and foster a new and gracious tone in the immigration debate, to seek the common good and to reject political rhetoric that tears at the very fabric of our society, and distracts from the development of good policy. We seek and support laws and policies that uphold the human dignity of each person.
We believe that the only true solution to address our country’s broken immigration system is the passage of comprehensive immigration reform by the federal government. On the other hand, if there are specific public safety issues which need to be addressed by the Oklahoma legislature, that legislation must only target the criminal perpetrators and avoid the desire of some to stereotype and scapegoat an entire population based upon fear, prejudice or the actions of a few.
We believe the way we treat immigrants is not only an important public policy issue but also an issue of faith and that the care of the stranger and the ministry of hospitality, as reflected in both the Hebrew scriptures and the Christian New Testament, are a central part of the activity of the people of God. Almost every day in our congregations and service ministries, we witness the consequences of our current failed immigration system. We see, hear, and feel the suffering of immigrant families who have been separated by deportation, of workers who have experienced exploitation in the workplace, and of immigrant victims of crime who are fearful of reporting those crimes to the authorities. We share in their rejection when voices in society vilify them.
As pastors, we are bound by Christ to spread the Good News, to advocate for the oppressed and to care for every member of our communities. We know that what harms one part of the community causes damage to all of God’s children and to our society. We stand in solidarity with the poor, the vulnerable, the oppressed, and the undocumented against laws and policies that reject or ignore their human dignity and devastate their families.
The measure of successful immigration reform is not how it affects the secure and the powerful, but the weak and the vulnerable. We believe that many of the specifics of the legislation embodied in HB 1446 and SB 908, which are essentially cloned from Arizona 1070, and in SB 683 and SB 905, fail this test. These bills ignore the vital and significant contributions that our undocumented brothers and sisters make to our society. They needlessly threaten their safety and welfare, deny their human dignity, and force them deeper into the shadows. These bills make criminals out of citizens who employ or otherwise assist them. As drafted, these bills do not, in our view, address legitimate public safety concerns.
We implore our elected leaders to demonstrate compassion, common sense, and moral and political courage by rejecting these anti-immigrant measures and instead pursue legislation and policies which respect the human dignity of all, foster a cohesive society, and reflect that every person, regardless of legal status, has been made in the image and likeness of God.
The Rev. Dale Assink
Regional Minister, Synod of the Heartland Reformed Church in America
James R. Bellatti
Executive Presbyter, Cimarron Presbytery
The Rev. Krista Betz
Interim Conference Minister, Kansas-Oklahoma Conference United Church of Christ
The Rev. Aaron Carland
General Presbyter, Indian Nations Presbytery, Presbyterian Church, USA
The Most Rev. Paul Coakley
Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
The Rev. Dr. Gregory J. Coulter
General Presbyter, Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery, Presbyterian Church, USA
Rex Friend
Religious Society of Friends
The Rt. Rev. Samuel L. Green
Presiding Bishop, Twelfth Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr.
Bishop, Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference
The Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Jewell
Regional Pastor, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Edward J. Konieczny
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma
The Rev. Dr. Charles H. Maahs
Interim Bishop, Arkansas-Oklahoma Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Sadie Mast
Mennonite Church
The Most Rev. Edward Slattery
Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa
The Rev. Charles (“T”) Thomas
Coordinator, Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma
Bishop Darryl B. Starnes, Sr.
Bishop, Southwestern Delta Episcopal District,
West Tennessee-Mississippi, South Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma Conferences, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Bishop James B. Walker
Bishop, Ninth Episcopal District, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
The Rev. Dr. George E. Young, Sr.
Progressive Oklahoma Baptist State Convention
The Rev. Dr. William Tabbernee
Executive Director,Oklahoma Conference of Churches
