Harsh Reality

The harsh reality in Oklahoma is that Oklahoma is NOT OK. Perhaps that’s why we adopted yet another new license plate design - #ImagineThat?

It’s easy to see. In ranking after ranking, Oklahoma ranks near the bottom of every meaningful measure of quality of life - from health care to education, childcare to wages. You name it, we seem to be at the bottom. The joke used to be, Thank God for Mississippi. Now we routinely hear how we should emulate the “Mississippi Miracle” in education. Yikes! What’s even more tragic is that Mississippi’s best educational outcome scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) don’t compare to Oklahoma’s educational scores from just two decades ago.

Our priorities and our vision are wrong… and the Oklahoma Legislature spent most of this session ignoring real problems.

1. Oklahoma is the worst state in the nation for Domestic Violence.
   Nearly 49.1% of women and 40.7% of men experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Violence typically includes intimate partner rape, physical abuse, and intimate partner stalking. One Oklahoman dies every five days from domestic violence.
   Source: States with the Highest Domestic Violence Rates

2. Oklahoma is the second worst state for men killing women.
   Only Alaska women are more at risk than Oklahoma women.
   Source: When Men Murder Women: An analysis of 2020 homicide data, published Sept. 2022

3. Oklahoma is the third worst state for women’s health care.
   This isn’t just reproductive health care. It’s difficult for a woman to access ANY kind of health care. That’s a result of punitive legislation chasing away OB/GYNs combined with low health insurance rates and low wages. After all, just because a woman HAS insurance, doesn’t mean she can afford to use it. That’s no surprise, considering Oklahoma women are paid just 72 cents for every dollar a man is paid.
   Source: Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care

4. Oklahoma is ranked #4 worldwide for incarceration
   Yes, you read that correctly. This ranking applies not just to states, but internationally.
   Source: Oklahoma Maintains Nation’s Fourth-Highest Imprisonment Rate

5. Oklahoma is ranked #5 in Teen Pregnancy
   Source: CDC: National Center for Health Statistics

There are two additional statistics that are just heartbreaking. These are both in the area of self-harm.

1. Oklahomans are far more likely to commit suicide than people who live in most other states. In fact, Oklahomans are 50% MORE likely to commit suicide. This is another place where our Governor’s #TopTen aspirations have done little to move the need.
   Source: Suicide and suicidality in Oklahoma
   
   In fact, if you do the math using the most recent death statistics (2022), you’ll see that one Oklahoman commits suicide roughly every 10 hours.

2. What’s even more horrendous is what’s happening to our kids. Since 2019, the leading cause of death for Oklahoma kids ages 10-17 is suicide.
   Source: Combating Youth Suicide in Oklahoma: A Call to Action for All

These are the real problems that the Oklahoma Legislature should be working on. That’s what Oklahomans deserve!