Yesterday, Senate Bill 743 was revisited and passed on the Senate floor, once again promoted as a necessary safeguard for churches and religious gatherings. Supporters are presenting it as a response to disturbing national incidents—such as people storming into churches in places like Minneapolis.
But Oklahomans deserve to know the truth:
Senate Bill 743 was not written in response to any violent church invasion. It was written in retaliation against three Christian men peacefully trying to speak with a pastor because SB743’s author kept abortion legal in Oklahoma.
Last year, Senator Todd Gollihare (R-Kellyville) obstructed and voted in committee against the bill to abolish abortion in Oklahoma, an ostensibly Republican pro-life Freewill Baptist voting as a pro-choice Democrat would. A Freewill Baptist pastor in central Oklahoma reached out to Gollihare’s pastor but was ignored. Multiple Christians attended an open town hall put on by Gollihare’s team in Sapulpa and questioned his preservation of abortion in Oklahoma; his team shut down the meeting early to avoid accountability.
Three Christian men in the eastern Oklahoma area decided to ensure that Gollihare’s congregation (which he publicly listed on his OKSenate.gov bio) was aware of his actions. Walking empty-handed to his church building entrance at least half an hour before Sunday service began on March 9, 2025, these men requested to speak to the pastor privately. The pastor angrily rejected this overture, immediately trespassed the men, and called law enforcement, then lied to his congregation during the service about how the men had approached him.
At no point did these men attempt entry into the building.
They did not remain on the property. They blocked nobody’s entry nor exit. The men made no loud audible disturbance during the worship service, nor did they enter to disrupt it.
The Creek County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the call agreed the men had the right to remain on public property. They filed no charges, wrote no tickets, and prepared not even a police report, because no laws were even alleged to have been broken. The interaction with law enforcement can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/txYzKTIX-Ik?si=JeYIoyjnL9a_cWmG
Senator Gollihare has publicly claimed that he was harassed on that day, yet he was not even present. In the St Paul MN church invasion of late January 2026, however, more than ten months later, Gollihare has found a new, though false, hobbyhorse and analogy to push Oklahoma SB 743, which is the latest attempt at heavy-handed governmental overreach with tremendous unintended consequences damaging First Amendment protected free speech and freedom of assembly.
The bill prohibits “disruption of religious services” within 100 feet of a church building. This is being framed as a protection of worship, but in reality it is an alarming infringement on First Amendment rights.
The First Amendment does not exist only for popular speech. It exists precisely for speech that is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or prophetic.
SB 743 creates a vague and expansive buffer zone around religious buildings, inviting abuse and selective enforcement. The term “disruption” is broad enough that peaceful protest, evangelism, or even persistent appeals could be criminalized if someone simply claims they felt disturbed. It is also broad enough as to allow any group of any kind (such as Satanists, atheists, or BLM) to claim they are engaged in a “worship service” in virtually any location and thus inoculate themselves from any other person who might want to bring a Gospel proclamation to bear such that the lost might hear the good news of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
This bill will not merely affect fringe actors.
It will affect Christians.
It will affect both pro-life advocates and abolitionists alike.
It will affect evangelists sharing the gospel near churches.
It will affect citizens who wish to protest or petition when events are held under the banner of “religion.”
The Irony is Impossible to Ignore.
Under SB 743, Christians could face arrest for preaching or protesting near a church building. Drag queen story hours and any other unspeakable event could be shielded from protest if hosted inside a church. Pride events could evade scrutiny if labeled “religious”, and from the amount of clergy members present at most Pride events, there is every reason to believe this bill will be leveraged to silence dissent.
This bill does not protect Christianity. It protects institutions from accountability and shields politically connected leaders from peaceful confrontation.
This Is Not the American Way.
Senator Gollihare’s bill is being celebrated today as if it were a noble defense of worship.
But the reality is far more troubling:
It was introduced after peaceful Christian men attempted to speak with a pastor.
That is not “storming a church.”
That is not violence.
That is not disruption.
That is the exercise of free speech, free assembly, and Christian exhortation.
To criminalize such actions is to erode the very liberties that allow the church to flourish without state interference.
Christians Should Be Alarmed.
If the government can ban peaceful presence within 100 feet of a church today, what will stop it from banning gospel preaching tomorrow?
If pastors and politicians can use the force of law to silence uncomfortable conversations, then the church has traded spiritual authority for state power.
Many Christians across Oklahoma are praying that Governor Kevin Stitt will veto this distressing threat to the people of this state—particularly Christians—who seek to exercise their First Amendment rights for the sake of the gospel and for holding elected representatives accountable for how they vote.
Senate Bill 743 is not a protection of worship.
It is a weapon against peaceful protest.
And it should be opposed by every citizen who values the First Amendment.
