Oklahoma Supreme Court clears way for election on cockfighting

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday paving the way for a vote on cockfighting. <br><br>The ruling backs an initiative petition seeking a November general election vote

Tuesday, July 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday paving the way for a vote on cockfighting.

The ruling backs an initiative petition seeking a November general election vote on banning cockfighting in Oklahoma.

The Supreme Court rejected a motion filed by Tulsa attorney Larry Oliver that sought to overturn one of its previous rulings validating the initiative petition.

A court referee had said the petition didn't have enough valid signatures, but the Supreme Court overturned those findings.

In today's decision, the court acknowledged that anti-cockfighting forces had successfully challenged more than 26 thousand signatures on initiative petitions.

But the court says that falls short of the successful challenges needed to stop the election.