Chris Banning is an American politician who has served as the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

member from the 24th district since November 16, 2022.

Career

Banning joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in 1993 as an Airman Basic. He participated in

Operation Provide Comfort Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern ...

between December 13, 1993, and January 12, 1997. He also provided volunteer relief at

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City. The ba ...

during the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

. Banning is the CEO of Banning Investment Group.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Banning challenged incumbent Representative Logan Phillips in the 2022 Republican primary, along with another candidate, Bobby Schultz. Banning was endorsed by Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2018, defeating Democrat and former state Attorney Ge ...

and

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a Libertarian conservatism, libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States affiliated with brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch. As the Koch family's primary pol ...

. Banning won the June Republican primary. Since no non- Republican candidate filled, there was no November general election. He was sworn in November 16, 2022. In 2024, he applauded superintendent

Ryan Walter Ryan William Walter (born April 23, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League. He won the 1986 Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens. He was also an assistant coach with ...

's attempts to reject the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

's standards for

information literacy The Association of College and Research Libraries defines information literacy as a "set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued and the use of infor ...

. Walters had called the current standards "woke and inappropriate for our youth”. The ALA, which works with the

Oklahoma Library Association The Oklahoma Library Association (OLA) is a non-profit organization that promotes libraries and library services and provides professional development for library personnel in the state of Oklahoma. OLA is a chapter of both the American Library As ...

and the

American Association of School Librarians The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) is a division of the American Library Association (ALA) that has more than 7,000 members and serves primary school and secondary school librarians in the U.S., Canada, and even internationally. P ...

, said it "remains focused on ensuring that our current information literacy standards meet academic rigor and that we continue to strive to make Oklahoma a top 10 state in literacy."

Personal life

Banning and his wife, Katy, have six children. He and his family live in Bixby, Oklahoma.

References

External links

Ballotpedia
Year of birth missing (living people) 1970s births Living people Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature United States Air Force airmen {{Oklahoma-politician-stub