By: Journalist Kaytly Clift (OSU)
Representative Ashton Tate (OSU) presented OSU-546, a bill proposing the establishment of a ‘Camo Alert,’ modeled after the AMBER Alert, to help find missing at-risk veterans should be implemented in the State of Oklahoma.
Rep. Tate said he had an amazing opportunity this past summer that further encouraged the need for this bill and the importance of this piece.
“I got to do an internship with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, (and) I was in the Public Engagement and Community Outreach division,” Rep. Tate said. “I was asked to see what other states were doing to protect their veterans from committing suicide.”
The ‘Camo Alert’ will use the same notification system as the AMBER Alert system, an emergency alert system that distributes notifications within a certain radius. A missing person alert will be sent out after 24 hours of the last sighting. Unlike the missing persons alert, the ‘Camo Alert’ will send an immediate alert to all civilians within a certain radius to the last known location.
This bill passed in the House of Representatives with a vote of 68-2 on Thursday and was then passed onto the Senate Chambers. On Friday, the bill was seen in the Senate chambers.
“The ‘Camo Alert’ in the State of Oklahoma would follow the same system as an AMBER Alert,” Rep. Tate said. “A lot of States have already done this including Colorado, Kansas, West Virginia, Delaware, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Connecticut.”
Along with the AMBER Alert, it would also be the same as the Blue and Silver Alert. The Silver Alert is for missing older adults, and the Blue Alert is for a law enforcement officer who is missing or was injured or killed.
“Twenty-four veterans a day die by suicide, and this bill is designed to combat that,” Rep. Tate said.
This bill was passed with a vote of 21-1 in the Senate. The bill is now being seen by the Attorney General, awaiting approval.