At this week’s Virginia State Crime Commission work group meeting, attendees heard a harrowing story.

Del. Ward Armstrong recalls an incident in which a woman going through a divorce had obtained a protective order against her husband, who nevertheless walked into her workplace and shot her to death.

"If she'd had a little warning, maybe she could've gotten out the back door," said Armstrong, D-Henry County.

The incident prompted him to propose legislation that would allow judges to require Virginians who are served protective orders to wear GPS tracking devices. Such devices can be set up to alert police, the person who requested the order, or both if the abuser gets too close to the victim.

After all, while protective orders are important and useful tools for victims of domestic violence, they’re just pieces of paper; they won’t stop a fist, a knife, or a bullet. Using technology to improve protective orders’ effectiveness is a smart solution to a problem facing over a million Americans every year.

But Minority Leader Armstrong isn’t the only Democrat leading the way in the fight against domestic violence.

In Connecticut, Democratic Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan created a task force last year to identify trends relating to domestic violence matters and developing a series of legislative recommendations. In May, the biggest group of domestic violence reforms in 25 years passed the Democratically-controlled state legislature. These reforms include:

• The creation of a pilot program for electronic monitoring for the highest risk domestic violence offenders;
• Enhancement of information sharing in family violence cases among appropriate state agencies;
• Authorization for prosecutors to consider out-of-state offenses for persistent family violence offenders;
• The creation of three additional domestic violence court dockets.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo sponsored a bill, the final version of which was passed unanimously by the state House and Senate in April, known as Amanda’s Law.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, sponsored the bill in response to the Sept. 11 shooting death of state worker Amanda Ross in Lexington. Former state Rep. Steve Nunn was charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty. Ross sought court protection from Nunn before she was gunned down.

Amanda’s Law would allow judges to order electronic monitoring in domestic-violence cases if certain violations of protective orders occur, such as assault, burglary or kidnapping.

Oklahoma Democrats took on domestic violence issues in their legislative session, as well. Minority Floor Leader Mike Brown and Senator Jim Wilson authored legislation which would stop the shameful practice of insurance companies in Oklahoma of denying coverage, refusing to renew, or canceling a person’s health benefit plan on the basis of that person’s status as a victim of domestic abuse. The measure passed on the last day of the legislative session, and once it is signed by the Governor, domestic violence will no longer be a “preexisting condition” in Oklahoma.

Efforts to address and prevent domestic violence are ongoing across the country. Democratic state legislators are tackling this issue head-on, and we can look forward to even more progress toward domestic abuse prevention and victim protection in legislative sessions to come.

Sometimes it’s important to find humor in everyday life, but we don’t think too many of Republican State Rep. Eddie Fields’ constituents are laughing about a recent poll on his website asking if they care more about “the economy,” “stray squirrels,” or “not enough toilet paper:”

[Hat Tip thelostogle.com]

In normal times, this might have been acceptable -- but not with over 117,000 Oklahomans still unemployed.

As best we can tell, Fields hasn’t issued any sort of apology, but he was clearly ashamed enough to take down the poll and replace it with one that, while not exactly offensive, is still puzzling. It asks if, among other things, “job growth,” “the economy,” or “Oklahoma Economics” are people’s top issue.

Democrat Dale Christenson, Jr. is seeking the nomination to face Rep. Fields for an open State Senate seat.

The Oklahoma Senate passed House Bill 2750 this session in a unanimous vote. This piece of legislation will add the events of the Oklahoma City Bombing to the state’s history curriculum, ensuring that the events of April 19, 1995 are never forgotten.

Today is the 15th Anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. It is a struggle to recognize anything worth celebrating about this day, but as DLCC Board Member and State Senator Sean Burrage explained in an editorial last week, the people of his great state pulled together in the midst of such a horrendous act:

This horrible event showed us that in the midst of something so terrible, we could see the very best in people. Oklahomans pulled together as they never had before, providing for the families of victims, the injured and those involved in the rescue and recovery at the Murrah Building. The eyes of the world were on us, and we in turn showed them the spirit that defines us—the “Oklahoma Standard,” as it has since been called.

Sen. Burrage and his wife, Carole, are among the many Oklahomans directly affected by the bombing. Carole was working across the street from the federal building and suffered minor injuries from flying glass.

In memory of the victims of this attack and in honor of those who showed great courage in the aftermath, we would like to say “thank-you” to the Oklahoma Legislature, for passing such an important piece of legislation.

Some Republican legislators in Oklahoma have decided to mark next week’s 15th anniversary of the infamous Oklahoma City bombing… by teaming up with local Tea Party extremists to form a right-wing paramilitary militia to guard Oklahoma “from an overreaching federal government."

No, really:

Thus far, the discussions have been exploratory. Even the proponents say they don't know how an armed force would be organized nor how a state-based militia could block federal mandates. Critics also asserted that the force could inflame extremism, and that the National Guard already provides for the state's military needs.

"Have they heard of the Oklahoma City bombing?" said Joseph Thai, a constitutional law professor at the University of Oklahoma. The state observes the 15th anniversary of the anti-government attack on Monday. Such actions could "throw fuel in the fire of radicals," he said.

Militia organizers are sending out promotional materials with headlines like “Buy more guns, more bullets,” but they insist that their militia would not plot to attack (i.e. murder) police officers or federal employees. Left unsaid, of course, is how exactly they plan to use guns to defend against the federal government.

Amazingly, Republican legislators like State Sen. Randy Brogdon and State Rep. Charles Key are backing the anti-government militias and even offering to promote them through the legislature.

Oklahoma Republicans have some funny opinions about marriage: they want to make it as difficult as possible to get in, but once you’re in, they’ll never let you leave. That’s the most reasonable take, anyway, on a Republican-sponsored divorce ban in the Oklahoma State House:

[Rep. Mark] McCullough, R-Sapulpa, wants all marriage license applicants to receive at least eight hours of counseling. He also proposes counseling for parents of minor children before divorcing.

[Rep. Sally] Kern, R-Oklahoma City, is proposing to bar divorces on grounds of incompatibility for couples married 10 years or more, that have minor children, or if one or the other party objects.

Kern’s bill is especially bizarre, but it follows a long line of homophobic statements by Rep. Kern, including her declaration that homosexuality is “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism.” So this is probably just misguided pushback against successes by the marriage equality movement in other states this year.

Equality supporters have a basic argument that two people who love each other should have the right to be married. But there’s also a pretty compelling corollary that says two people who do not love each other should have the right to divorce.

Sally Kern and her Republican allies obviously don’t believe either of these arguments. So maybe a better, simpler principle is that government should not meddle in people’s personal lives.

That’s something people of all political stripes should be able to get behind.

Reliable broadband service is one of the key ingredients for job-creation in the 21st Century, and Sen. Sean Burrage, a DLCC Board Member, is working hard to make sure his rural Oklahoma district doesn’t get left behind.

Last week, Burrage lent his star-power to a meeting between AT&T and local officials in Pryor, Oklahoma to help determine the fastest way get broadband available in Pryor:

Key officials met at City Hall on Monday morning to discuss Internet upgrades in Pryor and surrounding areas.

Senator Sean Burrage, Representative Ben Sherrer and Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy were among those attending the informal meeting. They joined Mayor Jimmy Tramel, Lucy Belle Schultz, Barbara Hawkins, Bruce Taylor, John Hawkins and others to hear from AT&T representatives.

AT&T Director – Regulatory Jason Constable, and Craig Cromley, Area Manager, were there to discuss broadband service in general and to field questions on how Pryor can be progressive regarding Internet service availability.

As telecommunications evolve, it takes time for the latest advances to reach every part of the country, but Pryor is on its way. Three quarters of the town is now DSL-capable, though upgrading to a 3G or 4G network remains a challenge.

With the benefits of a global marketplace and potential new job development at stake, Sen. Burrage is determined to help Pryor and all of rural Oklahoma meet that challenge successfully.

Incredibly, there are eight states in the country where insurance companies are allowed to count domestic abuse as a preexisting condition in order to deny coverage to victims of domestic violence.

Oklahoma is one of them.

Democratic Representative Eric Proctor wants to see that change:

"We need to be doing everything we can as a state to help these women, these children back on the road to recovery," he says. "Right now they're starting a survival process. We're one of only eight states in the country that permits them to be care for counseling care they need or the medical treatment they need."

This week, Proctor announced that he will sponsor legislation to end the practice.

Last year, Oklahoma Republican State Rep. Sally Kern said that homosexuality was “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism."

Last month, Kern introduced a resolution in the legislature that attempted to blame gays and “debauchery” for the national recession.

Democrats in the state have had enough.

Just before Independence Day, Rep. Ryan Kiesel spoke at a rally at the capitol where he responded to Rep. Kern's resolution and denounced it as a cheap stunt:

In a couple of days we will celebrate our nation’s independence. It is especially troubling that a few zealots would use this day of unity to play the very divisive game of allowing the government to ordain from on high what is and is not good and holy. This is the very division our founders saw as a threat to the future of the then-fledgling democracy.

Today I am proud to stand with these many individuals and organizations and with our Founders in saying we reject this divisive political stunt and instead celebrate the miracle of the human mind and its ability to believe in a manner each sees fit, the ability to love whom one wants, and the ability to elect a government who will not concern itself with who you love or where you go to church; rather focusing itself on building a strong economy, a world class education for our next generation of leaders and a health care system for all Oklahomans.

It's great to see that kind of courage and outspokenness. You can follow Rep. Kiesel on Twitter @capitolkiesel.

UPDATE: Movement against Rep. Kern is building. Oklahoma City's business paper, The Journal Record has a long editorial asking the Republican legislator to rescind her proclamation because of the damage it could do to the state's economic image.

Oklahoma Republican State Rep. Sally Kern, last seen spouting a paranoid, delusional tirade declaring the GLBT community “the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism,” is at it again. Kern, in a successful effort to prove that she’s gone completely off the deep end, has introduced a resolution blaming gays, troubled families, and general “debauchery” for the nation’s financial crisis.

The resolution itself contains several amazing charges:

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

It obviously never occurred to Kern that maybe, possibly, our economic woes are actually a consequence of Republican politicians who spent decades trying to control people’s personal lives while letting the economy spin out of control.

After gaining a majority in the Oklahoma Senate (which had previously been tied), Republican lawmakers were determined to pass a Voter ID bill this year.

College students are one group of people who are often particularly hard hit by these ID requirements. Legally, students are allowed to register to vote using college addresses but most who do still have drivers licenses and identification that display the addresses from their permanent residences back home.

These Voter ID laws leave them in limbo -- setting a barrier that is too high to make voting in their college communities convenient.

Democrats in Oklahoma were able to offer students some protection in the final version of the bill by introducing an amendment spearheaded by Rep. Joe Dorman that will allow them to use the identification issued by their colleges at the polls.

Rep. Dorman has a guest post up at FutureMajority where he offers his perspective about the debate and speaks to the importance of reaching out to youth generally.

The whole thing is well worth a read.

Incidentally, Rep. Dorman is practicing what he preaches. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.