LAWTON Okla_ Senator Don
Barrington of Lawton
is working for shorter wait times for protective order hearings.
For the second
year in a row, Barrington
is trying to get a bill passed that would reduce the waiting time to get a
hearing for a protective order. Last year, the bill sailed through the senate,
but it was so far down the house agenda, it wasn't even heard. So, he's trying
again. Barrington
said with the increasing violence in our communities, this bill is more
important than ever.
Senator Barrington
said back in the early 2000's, once a protective order had been filed, a court
hearing had to have been scheduled within seven days. Then, the time frame
jumped to 20 days. He's pushing for a 14-day time period for a hearing to be
scheduled. He feels it's a fair compromise. He thinks the bill will pass this
time around, as long as there's time for it to be heard.
Barrington is pushing
hard for this bill for women like Diane Dye. You may remember, Dye was gunned
down by her ex-husband just nine days before her protective order hearing was
scheduled.
"I knew
this young lady from the time she was a toddler," Senator Barrington said. "I've
known the family for a number of years, and it was kind of personal for
me."
Barrington said he was
disappointed when the bill wasn't heard last year, but this time he's fighting
again, along with Diane Dye's mother Barbara Burk. She said this is the first
step of many to getting protective orders enforced the way they should be.
"If we get
this passed, it will shorten that time for them to go before a judge to make it
a permanent order," Burk said. "It will be one battle won out of the war. The
war is still going on."
Burk said
she'll get no closure if this bill passes, but she will feel like progress is
finally being made. She's still convinced that a protective order is nothing
more than a piece of paper, and as a judge told her, paper can't stop bullets.
"They know
that's just a piece of paper that's been handed to them," Burk said of the
recipients of the orders. "There's really no punishment for violating
them."
Senator Barrington
is hoping that the recent anti-violence campaigns in our community will help
this bill resonate with lawmakers.
"Hopefully,
it will give some more credit to the legislation," Barrington said. "I would certainly hope so. I
don't hope for more violence. That wouldn't be my intention."
Barbara Burk is
haunted by the fact that protective orders don't stop domestic violence, but
she said Oklahoma
has to start some where.
"Until we
have something in place to affect a person that has threatened someone's life, something
that they know they will have to answer for if they violate it, the violence will
continue."
Senator Barrington said there were some modifications made to the bill
since it was last filed. Last year, the bill stated that if you had a protective
order filed against you, your weapons could be taken from your home. That
portion of the bill has been eliminated for now.
We will keep you updated on the status of this bill once it is assigned a
committee and discussed more by lawmakers.
