In The Era Of The Nanny State, Oklahoma Has No Laws Requiring Statewide Tornado Shelters


On Monday, May 20, 2013, the town of Moore, Oklahoma was virtually wiped off the map by a mile wide tornado. More than 20 people, including school children, were killed and hundreds of homes were demolished. Cars were catapulted onto the roofs of buildings and the Moore Hospital was severely damaged. This was the second devastating tornado to strike Moore in the last 15 years, and yet, the state of Oklahoma has no laws requiring tornado shelters for all of the state’s vulnerable citizens.

We live in the era of the nanny state; mayors of major cities have forced laws through their obedient city councils limiting the size of soft drinks and how much fat can be served in meals. Government has inserted itself into every aspect of personal behavior, from smoking to diet to when we can cool our automobiles on a hot sunny day, but the state of Oklahoma has not passed a law requiring every building and dwelling to have a tornado shelter.

To give you an idea just how serious this is, lets take the example of Oklahoma City. The city is dotted with more than 100 hundred large apartment complexes and none of them are required to provide a shelter for their tenants. One can only imagine the death and destruction that will occur if an apartment complex made out of aluminum siding, sheet rock and two by fours is ever hit head on by a tornado.

I happen to live in one of those complexes and today I received a rather alarming letter from my landlord. It reads, in part, “I am informing you that each one of you has to have an emergency plan already in place since we do not have any storm shelters on the property … Unfortunately these buildings are not reinforced to withstand the force of a tornado.” The letter goes on to tell me to drive to a hospital, shopping mall or ground level parking lot to seek shelter in the event of a tornado alert.

Perhaps they expect me to call a cab whenever the weather channel advises me of a tornado in the area. I don’t own a car, and if I did, am I really expected to drive several miles to a shelter with a tornado bearing down on me? So much for having any semblance of a normal life. I have a much better idea; the state should require my landlord to provide a shelter on the grounds of the complex.

Now, my landlord means well and they run an excellent apartment complex, so I can’t really blame them. They are doing their best in a state full of government officials who seem to have their heads buried in the sand Oklahoma is smack dab in the middle of “Tornado Alley”, we have multiple tornadoes every year, and people have been dying from them for decades. The fact that there is no state law mandating a shelter at every home, public building and apartment complex is simply gross negligence on the part of the state’s lawmakers.

Of course, several of Oklahoma’s mayors are now calling for tornado shelters after the latest killer tornado ripped apart Moore. Mayor Lewis of Moore told reporters, “”We’ll try to get it passed as soon as I can.” However, Lewis and the other politicians, who are now speaking out after decades of similar disasters, are talking about requiring shelters for all homes built in the future. At the risk of repeating myself, we need shelters for all the building that are already in existence; especially schools, hospitals and apartment complexes and we certainly need to include apartments, public buildings and schools under any laws covering new construction.

The lawmakers of Oklahoma need to wake up to reality and protect all of our state’s citizens from the dangers of tornadoes. While tornadoes are part of life here in Oklahoma, there is simply no excuse not to require on-site shelters for every dwelling and building in the state. If our government can spend its time and money telling us what we can drink and where we can smoke, they certainly can find the time and money to protect us from 200 mile an hour winds and a killer tornado that hurls cars across parking lots and onto the third story roof of a hospital. School kids should not be cowering in school bathrooms while a tornado rips the building to shreds. They should be safe underground in a shelter that meets all the latest standards for their safety. Anything less is simply unforgivable and inexcusable.

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