Republican lawmaker says it's 'socialist' and unbiblical to ban beating disabled students

A Republican state senator in Oklahoma fruitlessly raged as his colleagues passed a bill to outlaw corporal punishment of disabled students in schools.

SB 364, introduced earlier this month by fellow Republican Sen. David Rader, revives a long-controversial issue that has been frequently debated in the state legislature.

As the bill was debated, Sen. Shane Jett, one of the most outspoken opponents of the bill, told Rader that the Bible sanctions corporal punishment and demanded to know how his legislation conforms with Scripture. Rader replied by quoting the Bible himself, leading to a lengthy religious argument on the floor of the Senate, according to Oklahoma political observer Tyler Talley.

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"Not all discipline needs to be one way," said Rader. "Special needs students need special discipline, this says it won’t be physical."

But Jett, who has repeatedly made this argument in the past whenever the subject has come up for debate, wasn't convinced. He continued to call the bill a violation of Scripture, accused it of singling out schools that allowed parental consent for corporal punishment, and complained the measure was "socialist."

In the end, Jett's opposition was pushed aside, as the bill passed 31-16.

Jett has previously attracted attention for other peculiar policy positions.

He endorsed far-right state superintendent Ryan Walters' plan to put Trump-endorsed "God Bless the USA Bibles" in classrooms and introduced legislation this year that would deregulate the production and sale of donkey milk, without clarifying why he considered this necessary.