Policies needed to require cardiac responses plans in schools
I lost my husband, Derrick Shepard, to a cardiac arrest when he was only 35. As a former University of Oklahoma and NFL wide receiver, Derrick was the picture of health when he died.
Our son, Sterling, is now a professional football player like his dad, and throughout his childhood, I thought about what would happen if he or one of his classmates or teammates experienced a cardiac arrest at school or during practice. Would those nearby know what to do?
When someone has a cardiac arrest, every second counts. That’s why I’m joining with the American Heart Association to advocate for public policies at the state and federal level that would save lives from cardiac arrest. Last month, Sterling and I traveled to the state Capitol to meet with lawmakers about legislation that would require cardiac emergency response plans in Oklahoma schools. Then, I headed to Washington, D.C., to send the same message to Congress.
Federal bills like the HEARTS Act and Access to AEDs Act would save lives by ensuring that students in elementary and secondary schools, along with faculty and sports volunteers, are trained in CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). These bills would also support schools in acquiring AEDs and formulating cardiac emergency response plans to respond to a cardiac emergency.
Along with cardiac arrest survivors, families who have also lost a loved one to cardiac arrest and other advocates, we asked our representatives in Washington to act quickly to pass policies that will improve the chain of survival in schools. Doing so would give peace of mind to families across the country, and spare others the anguish of losing a loved one, like we did.
― Cheri Shepard, Oklahoma City
Patriotism Not Pride Act’s only purpose is suppression
House Bill 3217, the “Patriotism Not Pride Act” prohibits state agencies from displaying any form of LGBTQIA2S+ support on state property. It also bans state agencies from using any funds to promote, endorse, or engage in any activity that recognizes LGBTQIA2S+ individuals or Pride Month. This bill is one of many recently introduced in the Oklahoma Senate attempting to regulate LGBTQIA2S+ rights.
There is no purpose for this bill other than suppression. It follows the path of many others promoted in Oklahoma currently, blatantly exhibiting bias for one viewpoint and prejudice against another. This bill proudly sports the controversial title “Patriotism Not Pride” exposing its true intentions. Who decides the definition of patriotism? How does the support of pride threaten or demote it? The right to freedom of expression and speech are fundamental views of this country and the support of them is patriotic.
More: Oklahoma legislature considering over 50 bills targeting LGBTQ+ issues. What do they say?
Nowhere is it stated that patriotism means an alliance with Christian or conservative views and nowhere can it be proved that the promotion or support of LGBTQIA2S+ values causes harm or threatens democracy. Many of our representatives in Oklahoma today speak of the threat of indoctrination or the potentially harmful influence LGBTQIA2S+ depictions could have on young children. Many claim these ideals or depictions are a threat to Christian values.
Whether this is true or not it is not a relevant argument as Christian values aren’t the concern of legislators. Constitutional values and ideals are. Christian values are NOT synonymous with constitutional values and have no standing to be promoted as such. The only unconstitutional issue needing to be addressed here is our representatives’ clear inability to separate church and state.
The open shameless bias present in the hearts and policies of Oklahoma’s representatives is a crisis that urgently needs to be addressed. There is no constitutional standing for the implementation of this bill and it opens a dangerous pathway to more suppressive acts in the name of false patriotism.
— Sarah Osborne, Tulsa
Oklahoma needs to stop targeting immigrants
As if we don’t have enough problems in our state without creating one like House Bill 4156. And as Gov. Kevin Stitt is so focused on making us a top 10 state in all the wrong areas of state management, of course he signed it. During my working career as a nurse practitioner, I had the good fortune of working with many Hispanic families. I know many of the parents at the time were undocumented, but most of their children were born in the U.S., generally either in Texas or Oklahoma. These were hard-working parents that took a very big interest in making sure they were doing their best to provide their children with the health care they needed. I felt very honored to have contributed to their efforts in this, as a well as their efforts to make a good and prosperous life in Oklahoma.
More: Former OSBI agent on HB 4156: Nothing in the bill justifies an arrest for impermissible occupation
Why the Republican Legislature feels so threatened and endangered by immigrants ― whether documented or undocumented ― is beyond me. Their contributions to our communities in this state have been important ― just ask those communities where Hispanics have rejuvenated small towns struggling with loss of population.
If the border issues were that important to them, they should have focused on getting our Republican U.S. representatives to pass Sen. (James) Lankford’s bill. If our state attorney general is so worried about criminals in the marijuana trade in our state, perhaps he would have been better served by pressing the Legislature to provide more resources for regulation and enforcement, as they were grossly negligent in these areas when setting up the laws/rules for this new industry. I know the legislators will say those problems have been taken care of, but you need more than new regulations; you need people and appropriate institutions.
Of course this means more money to manage this problem. We’re told constantly by the governor we have a surplus. Instead of trying to play politics that will benefit very few with an income tax cut, which will surely be regretted at a later date, our state should act responsibly to provide the necessary infrastructure and resources to manage the needs of Oklahoma instead of targeting immigrants.
― Penny Barber, Edmond
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Letters on cardiac response plans, ‘shameless bias’ in Oklahoma bills
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