(March 5, 2020 / JNS) The Oklahoma House passed a bill on Tuesday that would prohibit the state from contracting with firms that boycott Israel.
The bill, which passed 75-20, would apply to state contacts that are more than $100,000.
Republican Rep. John Echols labeled the legislation an “absolute no-brainer.”
“I’m proud to stand up and say the Jewish people have a right to have a nation,” he told The Oklahoman. “They have a right to exist.”
Democratic Rep. Collin Walke told the outlet that the bill goes against the First Amendment.
“When you pass a law that deprives companies and individuals of their right to freedom of speech, you are failing to abide by that Constitution that you’re sworn to uphold,” he told The Oklahoman.
The bill now heads to the state Senate.
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