Oklahoma Senate votes to override governor's veto on domestic violence bill
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — On Wednesday, the Oklahoma Senate voted to override Gov. Kevin Stitt's veto after he rejected a bill that some believe would protect survivors of domestic violence.
"One of the areas that we are a top ten state and it's a terrible designation is in the number of domestic abuse survivors," said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat (R-OKC).
Oklahoma ranks first in the U.S. for domestic violence cases per capita, and third for domestic homicides.
The Oklahoma Survivors Act was just passed by lawmakers and would allow judges to impose lower sentences on domestic violence survivors and adjust past sentences.
"Were just trying to show the women largely who are in this arena that we care," said Treat.
Treat described Governor Stitt's decision to veto the bill as "playing politics in the worst way possible."
"The governor vetoed it, didn't talk to us, didn't tell us he had any concerns," said Treat. "I wish he would have taken a much more seriously from the start, if he had concerns that would have been great."
Governor Stitt said the Oklahoma Survivors Act would create a "sword" criminal defendants could abuse and called it "bad policy."
Senator Nathan Dahm was the only person siding with the governor, and the veto was overridden with a vote of 46-1.
"The governor really offended a lot of domestic violence survivors," said Treat.
It will now be up to the House, where the bill passed with an overwhelming majority, to completely override the veto.