Justin J. J. Humphrey (born August 17, 1966) is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Oklahoma. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, 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 East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Duran ...

. 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 The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and th ...

. 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 Pushmataha (c. 1764 – December 24, 1824; also spelled Pooshawattaha, Pooshamallaha, or Poosha Matthaw), the "Indian General", was one of the three regional chiefs of the major divisions of the Choctaw in the 19th century. Many historians cons ...

, Atoka, and Bryan counties. He won re-election in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

. He's served in the

56th Oklahoma Legislature The Fifty-sixth Oklahoma Legislature was the most recent meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January 3, 2017, to Janua ...

57th Oklahoma Legislature The Fifty-seventh Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January 3, 2019, to January 3, 2021, d ...

, and the

58th Oklahoma Legislature The Fifty-eighth Oklahoma Legislature is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It meets in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from January 3, 2021, to January 3 ...

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 The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) is a global legal advocacy organization that seeks to advance reproductive rights, such as abortion. The organization's stated mission is to "use the law to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental huma ...

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 A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

athletes from participating in women's

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. 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 The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is an agency of the state of Oklahoma responsible for managing and protecting Oklahoma's wildlife population and their habitats. The Department is under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Com ...

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 A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

. He argued the bill as a

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the cr ...

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 David Rader, 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, 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 "Dehumanization, 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 transphobia, transphobic comments. In an email responding to a voter, 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

primary.

2018

Humphrey ran unopposed in the

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.

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