Emily Virgin (born October 1, 1986) is an American politician who is the Minority Leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She previously served as House Democratic Caucus Chair. She was first elected in 2010 at the age of 24 and represents the 44th district, which includes

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, b ...

. Virgin will retire from the Oklahoma House at end of 2022 due to term limits.

Education

Virgin completed an undergraduate degree in criminology and political science at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

in 2009. Virgin was elected to the House while attending law school at the

, from which she earned her J.D. in 2013.

Political career

In 2010, she won election to the House against Mike Hunt, a self-employed lawn care professional. At the time she was the youngest representative in the Democratic caucus, at 24 years old, although two younger Republicans were elected that same year. She campaigned on improving education in Oklahoma and fighting education cuts. She has stated that she had been interested in public service from a young age. She did not expect to start a political career so early, but she decided to run when her home seat became open due to term limits on the incumbent. In 2015, the Oklahoma Legislature considered a

religious freedom bill In the United States, a religious freedom bill is a bill that, according to its proponents, allows those with religious objections to oppose LGBT rights in accordance with traditional religious teachings without being punished by the government for ...

that would allow businesses to refuse services to individuals based on the business owner's religious beliefs, mainly in reference to bakers and photographers opposed to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Virgin gained notice for proposing an amendment that would require the businesses to publicly post a notice specifying what classes of patrons they would refuse services to, in an attempt to derail the bill. The bill stalled the following week. In May 2017, Virgin was elected House Democratic Caucus Chair; her term was to start the following year. As of 2017, Virgin is on the Appropriations and Budget Committee, Higher Education and Career Tech Committee, Judiciary – Civil and Environmental Committee, and Public Safety Committee. On November 15, 2018, Virgin was named the Minority Leader for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, succeeding Steve Kouplen.

References

External links

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Legislative page
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A video interview with Virgin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virgin, Emily 1986 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives People from Norman, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni Women state legislators in Oklahoma