Mike Osburn (born April 15, 1968) is an American politician who has served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 81st district since 2016.[1][2] He is Cherokee.[3]
Political career
In 2023 he co-authored House Bill 1792 with Dave Rader[4] that would lessen the penalties of dogfighting in the state of Oklahoma, which sparked pushback from animal rights advocates.[5] Also in 2023, Lonnie Paxton authored Senate Bill 1006 which died in the Senate. It would have also lessened the penalties for cockfighting in the state, similar to House Bill 2530, which also died in the same timeframe.[6] HB 2530, pushed by Justin Humphrey, died on April 13, 2023, for the second year in a row. Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said he was glad cockfighting remained a felony. Humphrey was quoted as saying “You’re dang skippy I’ll take my kid to a chicken fighting before I’m gonna take them to see a drag queen."[7]
The April 2023 version of Osburn's bill "says dogfighting, arson and dozens of other crimes would only have a $500 fine," but Osburn denied the final version of the bill would not allow for this, claiming it was just "placeholder language."[8]
He was one of twenty early Oklahoma lawmakers who endorsed Ron DeSantis for the 2024 presidential election.[9]
References
- ^ "Osburn announces candidacy for District 81". Edmondsun.com. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
- ^ "Representative Mike Osburn". Okhouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
- ^ "A glance at Indigenous state lawmakers". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
- ^ "Bill Information". www.oklegislature.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ Staff, Mckenzie Richmond, KTUL (2023-04-12). "An Oklahoma bill could dramatically reduce punishment for dog fighting". KTUL. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ News, E. I. N.; PACELLE, WAYNE (2023-04-13). "Pro-Cockfighting Bills Fail in Oklahoma Legislature". EIN News. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ staff, Sunny Leigh, KTUL (2023-04-14). "Bill to reduce penalties for animal fighting shut down in Oklahoma Senate". KTUL. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Weber, Andy (2023-04-14). "Bill's language makes it seem Oklahoma lawmakers are looking to lessen penalties for dogfighting". KOCO. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ^ Ogles, Jacob (2023-06-07). "20 Oklahoma lawmakers endorse Ron DeSantis". Florida Politics. Retrieved 2023-06-08.