TULSA, Okla. — In honor of Earth Day yesterday, Senator Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed Senate Bill 1065 to ban paper straws in the state of Oklahoma.
“You have states, like California, where the leftist loons have banned plastic straws because they saw a video on social media about a sea turtle that was harmed by ingesting a straw,” Dahm said. “So, under the guise of helping the planet, they’ve banned plastic straws, resulting in who knows how many trees now being cut down to make paper straws.”
Under the bill, if passed, any licensed food establishment in the state of Oklahoma that provides a customer with a straw cannot distribute straws made of non-plastic materials, including paper or pasta.
“Hatred of paper straws is nearly universal,” Dahm said. “I’ve never met a single person who enjoys using a paper straw. They fall apart and turn to mush quicker than Joe Biden trying to string together a coherent sentence.”
Since the bill was filed after the filing deadline, the measure can only receive a hearing as a committee bill or it can be refiled ahead of next year’s session.
“Some may think this bill is silly, and I certainly would prefer if we just legalized freedom and pursued an actual free market,” Dahm said. “But as long as there are those interfering in the market with things like plastic straw bans, I’ll engage in any way possible to expose and counter those regulatory schemes.”
While some may not find the seriousness in this issue, Dahm said plastic straws should actually be celebrated.
“In all seriousness, plastics and petrochemicals have changed our planet for the better. Many people don’t realize the plastic they use every day is a byproduct of our oil and gas industry," Dahm said. "When we talk about Earth Day, we should be celebrating the industry that fuels our cars, heats and cools our homes, has advanced farming and food production and helped raise the standard of living for people across the planet.”
Dahm also made some disparaging remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday. Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, expressed his disappointment regarding Dahm's comments.
“I am disappointed in Nathan Dahm’s comments about the vice president of the United States," Treat said. "His comments were misogynistic, disrespectful, immature, and undermine the good work of the staff and other members of the Oklahoma Senate. As the leader of the Senate, I hold senators to a high standard of conduct and decorum, and Senator Dahm completely failed to live up to that standard.”
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