Pat Ownbey

Pat Ownbey obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Oklahoma in 1975. Ownbey married his wife, Kathy on June 12, 1976. Together, they have two children.^[5] Ownbey's hometown is Ardmore, Oklahoma, where he owned and managed radio stations in the area. Ownbey attends First Baptist Church of Ardmore.^[6]

In a June 2016 interview with Non Doc discussing Ownbey's controversial Facebook post stating "Islam is not a religion, subject to First Amendment protections,"^[7] Ownbey expressed he was "unsure"^[8] if the First Amendment should cover Islam. Ownbey’s post continued: "The first step in coming to grips with the Islamic threat is to officially declassify Islam as a protected religion in the hearts and minds of western populations.”^[7] During the interview, Ownbey stated he received no negative criticism towards his Facebook post, adding, "I do believe there's a lot of issues with the Muslim religion that are concerning to Americans and certainly are concerning to Oklahomans."^[8] Adam Soltani, the executive director of the Oklahoma Council on American Islamic Relations, criticized Ownbey's Facebook post, calling it an example of Islamophobia.^[7]

Ownbey, among a group of Oklahoma Representatives to quickly become a lobbyist after their term, concerned reporter Trevor Brown of Oklahoma Watch. Brown stated the practice could cause "conflicts of interest to emerge" and lawmakers-turned-lobbyists would have "undue influence over their former colleagues."^[3]