A member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives said he has killed a controversial hate crimes bill.

Senate Bill 1965 was intended to target hate crime protections for gays and lesbians, but as reported in The Daily, the bill actually removed protections from religious and racial groups because of a “legislative error.”

Rep. Mike Shelton, D-Oklahoma City, said in a press release Monday he has killed Senate Bill 1965.

“Like so many Oklahomans who support civil rights for all Americans, I have been extremely concerned about the negative implications SB 1965 would have if it became law,” Shelton said. “Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I am able to report that SB 1965 will not become law; at least not this year.”

Shelton said the bill would have prohibited Oklahoma law enforcement agencies from cooperating with any federal agency in the investigation of federal hate crimes.

He said he was able to use a legislative maneuver to kill the bill.

“In the bizarre and often confusing world of legislative process and internal rules, sometimes the best way to beat bad legislation is to own it, and that is just what I did,” Shelton said.

He said when the bill’s original author agreed to allow him to sign on to this legislation, he was given the opportunity to stop the bill dead in its tracks by not requesting a committee hearing.

“I understand it could be possible to take from my name being on this bill that I am in support of this hateful nonsense,” Shelton said. “I have faith, however, that Oklahomans will see through those efforts to distort my position and slander my lifelong commitment to civil rights. Even if my opponents are successful in spreading their misinformation, false marks against my reputation are a small price to pay to prevent Oklahoma from taking a step backwards in the area of civil rights.”