Abortion, firearms among topics of bills filed in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Some familiar topics like abortion and firearms are among those in the more than 2,200 bills and resolutions filed by Oklahoma House and Senate members ahead of the 2017 legislative session that begins Feb. 6.
The 2,242 bills and resolutions filed by this week’s deadline is about average for the first session of a Legislature in Oklahoma. There were 2,091 filed in 2015 and 2,466 introduced in 2013.
While closing a massive budget gap and finding a way to increase teacher pay will be among the priorities for Republican leaders, hot-button issues like abortion, firearms and the death penalty also will be on the agenda.
Among more than a dozen anti-abortion measures introduced this year is one by Republican Sen. Joseph Silk that would classify abortion as first-degree murder.