OK Governor Signs Bill Protecting Drivers Escaping From Riots
With the recent rises in civil unrest around the nation, Oklahoma's Governor Stitt has signed a bill that protects drivers should they be forced to hit someone while trying to escape a riot.
KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City reports that Oklahoma House Bill 1674 is one of a series of GOP supported proposals and would, in some circumstances, protect drivers from being charged or sued if they strike or kill someone while they are trying to escape a riot that has surrounded them on a public road.
It's a situation no driver wants to be found in, simply driving down the street, inadvertently coming up on the scene of a riot and suddenly finding yourself surrounded by people seemingly bent on doing you harm. That's scary enough if you're by yourself, even more if you happen to have your children in the vehicle with you. That very scenario played out recently in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and many believe that was the origin of this bill.
The bill would also make it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine for anyone who deliberately blocks the use of a public street. The act of blocking roadways has been a longtime tactic for non-violent protesters with a history going back even before the civil rights protests of the 1960s.
House Bill 1674 was signed by Oklahoma's Governor Stitt on Wednesday along with another bill that would protect Oklahoma police officers from being doxxed.