An Oklahoma lawmaker is facing backlash for proposing a discriminatory bill that deems gang members of Hispanic descent as “terrorists”.
The Republican state representative JJ Humphrey introduced the bill, HB 3133, which seeks to combat problems in the state, such as drug and human trafficking, and lay out punishments to those who have committed these “acts of terrorism”.
The punishment for such a crime would be forfeiting all assets, including any and all property, vehicles and money.
In addition to “a member of a criminal street gang” and someone who “has been convicted of a gang-related offense”, the bill defines a terrorist as “any person who is of Hispanic descent living within the state of Oklahoma”.
No other racial or ethnic group is singled out in the legislation.
The move was met with fierce criticism.
The State senator Michael Brooks, who serves as the senate’s minority caucus vice-chair and founded the Oklahoma Latino legislative caucus, said the move by Humphrey was unsurprising.
“To have the law treat people differently based on their race or ethnicity only creates greater divides,” Brooks said. “The bill is fatally flawed, and I don’t know if there’s much of a way to be able to change it.”
Some Oklahomans voiced their outrage on social media.
One X user wrote: “Tell us you’re racist without telling us you’re racist …”
Humphrey apologized but then doubled down.
He said: “I apologize for using the word Hispanic, but I was not wrong. Again, these are Hispanic. Reality is they are Hispanic. There’s nothing to be ashamed with.”
Humphrey said he will go back to the bill and amend the language from “Hispanic” to “undocumented here illegally, or something like that”.
If passed in the Republican-controlled legislature, the bill would become law and take effect on 1 November.
Humphrey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
• This article was amended on 19 January 2024 to clarify the bill targets gang members of Hispanic descent
