Justin Humphrey

Justin J. J. Humphrey (born August 17, 1966) is an American politician from the state of Oklahoma. A Republican, he is a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing state House District 19. He lives in Lane, Oklahoma, in the southeastern part of the state.Oklahoma Republican stands by calling pregnant women 'hosts'
Associated Press (February 13, 2017). He was re-elected by default in 2020.

Early life and career before politics

Justin Humphrey is the son of Jack Humphrey, a retired superintendent of Lane Public Schools, and Linda Humphrey, a librarian. He was born on August 17, 1966.

Humphrey graduated from East Central University. He worked for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for twenty years before retiring.New Faces at the Capitol 2017
Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, page 11. He has served as vice president of his local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. Humphrey and his wife, Carla, have three children.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Humphrey first ran for the State House in 2016 as the Republican nominee. District 19 includes Choctaw, Pushmataha, Atoka, and Bryan counties. He won re-election in 2018 and 2020. He's served in the 56th Oklahoma Legislature, 57th Oklahoma Legislature, and the 58th Oklahoma Legislature.

56th Legislature

On February 6, 2017, Humphrey introduced in the state House an anti-abortion bill (House Bill 1441) to require women to obtain the "written informed consent of the father" before obtaining an abortion,Dale Denwalt
Lawmaker calls pregnant women 'hosts'
''The Oklahoman'' (February 14, 2017). except in cases of rape, incest and the mother's health. Humphrey's bill would also compel women "to tell her doctor the father's name and prevents the abortion if the father challenges paternity."Lorne Fultonberg
Bill would require man's permission for abortion
KFOR (February 8, 2017). The legislation was supported by anti-abortion activists and condemned by abortion-rights groups such as the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood, which called it "extreme" and "irresponsible" as well as unconstitutional.

On February 14, 2017, Humphrey's H.B. 1441 passed the state House Public Health Committee on a 5–2 party-line vote, with Republicans voting yes and Democrats voting no. The committee passed a second anti-abortion bill the same day. H.B. 1441 was never brought up for a vote in the House.

58th Legislature

Humphrey played a major role in SB2, a bill that would ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports.

In 2021, Humphrey, in an effort to bolster tourism, proposed an official Bigfoot hunting season in Oklahoma, indicating that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation would regulate permits and the state would offer a $3 million bounty if such a creature was captured alive and unharmed.

59th Legislature

In 2023, Humphrey introduced HB 2530 to allow county-specific elections to reduce from felonies to misdemeanors the criminal penalties related to cockfighting. He argued the bill as a criminal justice reform measure. The bill advanced out of the House Criminal Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22. In 2022, Jon Echols amended a previous bill of Humphrey's about cockfighting that was later changed to include issues of loitering. The Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, "a pro-cockfighting political action committee" donated $1,000 to Humphrey "and he is listed on one report as receiving support from the organization when it spent $178.12 on a checkbook from First United Bank in Durant." In 2023 Dave Rader co-authored House Bill 1792 with Mike Osburn that would lessen the penalties of and cockfighting dogfighting in Oklahoma, which sparked pushback from animal rights advocates. Also in 2023, Lonnie Paxton authored Senate Bill 1006 which died in the Senate. It would have also lessened the penalties for cockfighting in the state, similar to House Bill 2530, authored by Justin Humphrey and Paxton, which also died in the same timeframe.

Humphrey, along with Kevin McDugle, have been outspoken against DAs and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, especially in relation to the Richard Glossip case. In December 2023, Humphrey accused DAs of possibly illegally collecting money during supervised probation and called for the attorney general to investigate. The Oklahoma District Attorneys Council's chair, Christopher Boring, rebuked Humphrey's claims.

Controversies

Misogyny

In an interview with ''The Intercept'' in February 2017, Humphrey referred to pregnant women as "hosts" for the fetus, prompting outrage and criticism from many quarters. Fellow State Representative Emily Virgin called the comment "incredibly disrespectful," while ''The Oklahoman'' editorial board wrote that "dehumanizing language is the wrong approach on abortion." Humphrey stood by his use of the term, saying he did not intend to offend anyone.

Transphobia and Homophobia

Humphrey has made multiple transphobic comments.
In an email responding to a constituent Humphrey said "I understand transgender people have mental illness". This view is not supported by the World Health Organization or the American Psychiatric Association. In an interview published after the incident on April 15, 2021, Humphrey doubled down by saying "I want to tell your audience there is no transgender. There is male and there is female. And transgender would be a mental health issue... So those people that say I'm bigoted, I will say you're insane and you're doing the people wrong by doing that." Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBT advocacy group, denounced Humphrey's comments calling them "a long-debunked myth".

Humphrey was quoted as saying “You’re dang skippy I’ll take my kid to a chicken fighting before I’m gonna take them to see a drag queen."

Cockfighting

Humphrey's efforts to introduce cockfighting legislation has led to the outcry from animal rights advocates and the former attorney general. Oklahoma has been called the "Cockfighting Capitol of the United States." HB 2530, pushed by Justin Humphrey, died on April 13, 2023, for the second year in a row. Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said he was glad cockfighting remained a felony.

Electoral history

2016

Humphrey ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

2018

Humphrey ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

2020

Humphrey ran unopposed in the 2020 Oklahoma House of Representatives election.

2022

Humphrey ran unopposed in the 2022 Oklahoma House of Representatives election.

See also

*Abortion in Oklahoma

References

External links

Official profile
from the Oklahoma House of Representatives

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Justin
Living people
Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
People from Atoka County, Oklahoma
East Central University alumni
1966 births