Although I’m a liberal city mouse who knows very little about farm life and still considers East Edmond to be “the country,” I proudly support American farmers and their right to repair their own equipment.
What can I say? I’m a freedom-loving individual, and whether it’s a car, an iPhone, or an old International Harvester, I think once you buy something, you should have the right to tear it apart and try to fix it, even if you’ll probably fail and make it worse.
Considering Oklahoma lawmakers love to cosplay as rugged individualists while pandering to rural voters, you’d think they’d be all-in on that same philosophy. But surprisingly, when given the chance, they basically told farmers to take their owner’s manual and shove it.
Here are the details via KOSU:
House Bill 3617 would have required manufacturers of machinery like tractors and combines to make parts or tools needed for diagnosing, maintaining and repairing available to equipment owners and independent repairers.
Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa, and Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, authored the measure. In an interview with KOSU, Lawson said many farmers and ranchers were supportive of the bill.
The measure made it past the House of Representatives Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee, and then the House Agriculture Committee with strong support from lawmakers.
But it didn’t make it to the House floor before a key deadline last week.
Once again, the only things I know about farms end in E-I-E-I-O, but how did this not get a vote? It sailed through a House Committee vote with only votes against it coming from Assistant Majority Whip Jim Grego and House Majority Leader Josh West...
Seriously, why did these guys vote against it in committee and, presumably, use their influence as house leaders from giving it a floor vote. Let's be honest. The only thing people in the GOP pander to more than farmers is money and… well… I think I just answered my own question.
The American Farmers and Ranchers Cooperative agrees:
Yep that’s right. Nothing says “Oklahoma values” like lawmakers protecting a multinational equipment company’s repair monopoly over the people actually working the land. It sure is a shame to see farmers get exactly who and what they vote for, huh?
Anyway, while I don’t exactly align with farmers on most social or political issues, I’m firmly on their side here. I genuinely wish them the best of luck earning the right to properly work on the equipment they already own. In the meantime, I’m sure lawmakers will try to make it up to them with another anti-abortion bill or pro-gun measure, and everything will be just fine.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
