Rep. Rebecca Hamilton (D-Oklahoma City)
April 8th, 2010 Posted by admin
Rep. Rebecca Hamilton (D-Oklahoma City)
State Representative Rebecca Hamilton is now serving her second tour of duty in Legislature, in a manner of speaking. She was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1980 and served until 1986 when she left politics to have her first child. She remained at home to raise a family and later resumed her political career when she was re-elected to the House in 2002.
During her tenure in the Oklahoma Legislature, Rep. Hamilton has been an advocate for human rights, believing that government must support and defend the sanctity of all human lives, regardless of age.
Rep. Hamilton has authored laws authorizing Victim’s Protective Orders to protect battered women, obtained funding for the first statewide program for adult day care and the first statewide program of domestic violence shelters, and she helped pass some of the first nursing home reforms in Oklahoma.
She has also carried legislation to prevent law enforcement officials from publicly posting the private information of rape victims, protect nursing home residents from sexual predators, require background checks for all nursing home employees, and impose significant penalties on those convicted of human trafficking.
Rep. Hamilton is one of four founding members of Oklahoma Pro-Life Democrat Legislators and authored a 2005 law hailed at the time as the most significant piece of pro-life legislation in Oklahoma in 30 years. The measure required informed consent, parental notification and created a “Laci Peterson” law allowing prosecutors to file criminal charges against anyone who intentionally causes the death of an unborn child by harming the mother.
Rep. Hamilton has also authored legislation ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize elective abortions and this year she is carrying legislation to prevent women from being financially coerced into selling their eggs in a potentially dangerous extraction procedure.
Rep. Hamilton’s legislative career reflects her long-standing commitment to her community. In 1972, long before she sought elective office, she was one of six original co-founders of first rape crisis center in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma City Democrat has worked to bring a wide range of groups together to fight on the behalf of abused women, including the creation of the Annual Day of Prayer for an End to Violence Against Women at the Oklahoma Capitol.
Rep. Hamilton has been married for 25 years to her husband, Rodney, and the couple has two grown sons.
A member of St. James Catholic Church, Rep. Hamilton serves as an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister who takes communion to homebound in her parish.
She has also been a long-time volunteer at Birth Choice of Oklahoma, a non-profit organization that helps women facing crisis pregnancies deal with the challenges involved - emotional, medical and financial.
Rep. Hamilton, a writer, is the editor of Economy Publishing Company.
She is a lifelong resident of south Oklahoma City, and previously served on the board of regents of Oklahoma City Community College.
