OKLAHOMA CITY – In honor of Earth Day, Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed Senate Bill 1065 to ban paper straws in the state.

“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 measure, any licensed food establishment in the state that provides a consumer with a straw cannot distribute straws made of non-plastic materials, including, but not limited to, 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. They collapse like Mitt Romney under the slightest amount of pressure, and even with Kamala Harris … well, never mind.”

Since the bill was filed after the filing deadline, it can only receive a hearing as a committee bill as stated in the Senate rules, 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. At least with this measure, we always have the option to turn it into a free-market bill and deregulate in the event we can’t save some trees from being turned into straws.”

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,” Dahm said. “Many people don’t realize the plastic they use every day is a byproduct of our oil and gas industry. 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.”

For more information, contact:  Sen. Nathan Dahm at 405-521-5551, or email [email protected]