Being the target of false accusations and outright lies comes with public service. I usually ignore them. But a recent editorial crossed the line from opinion into vicious fiction, and the record deserves correction.

Anyone who actually knows me—or the constituents I represent in Vernon and Beauregard—would find these malicious claims about as believable as me cheering for the Dallas Cowboys or rooting against my Wampus Cats.

Let’s start with a basic fact check. There is no legislator named “Owens.” My last name has four letters. No “s.” So if you’re going to try to insult me or tell obvious lies, at least spell my name correctly.

Mark Guillory fraudulently claims that Reps. Brett Geymann, Mike Johnson, and I are “environmental radicals.” That accusation is both absurd and detached from reality. Since taking office in 2020, I have cast thousands of votes, always trying to get it right. When I don’t, I own it.

In 2020, during the height of COVID shutdown damage, I was misled into supporting Senate Bill 353. I was told it would help stabilize and revive Louisiana’s oil and gas industry as a recovery effort from the COVID shutdowns. The full consequences of the bill became clear later, and since then I have worked consistently to unwind the framework that enabled carbon sequestration policy abuses. Guillory’s claim that this single bill created today’s problems is patently false.

In continuance of the basic fact check: the first instances of eminent domain for pipelines of any kind fell under the federal Natural Gas Act of 1938 which was amended in 1947 (Section 7(h)) to give interstate pipeline companies the right to exercise this power when voluntary agreement with landowners could not be obtained.

The groundwork for use for carbon capture for storage and transport was laid in Louisiana through storage and pipeline laws passed in 1981 (Act 239), 2009 Louisiana Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Act (Act 517), and in 2014 (Act 326), the first key legislative update to the 2009 law. These laws are the foundation and authority. The 2020 bill was an update to existing law that should not have been passed. There was literally no debate at all on the bill during the COVID lockdowns.

More recently, after President Biden put carbon capture tax credits on steroids, in 2025 my colleagues and I delivered a serious blow to the green agenda in Louisiana. Through SB244, Rep. Geymann successfully removed language in state law labeling greenhouse gases as a threat to Louisiana—an important change given how our courts interpret legislative intent. Geymann also identified another weak point and secured majority support to ensure captured carbon is treated like oil and gas in court, meaning companies must prove a legitimate public good to invoke eminent domain. They can’t. The industry knows it.

It wasn’t total victory, but it was a solid beachhead, along with other changes we were able to get through after a 12-hour Natural Resources Committee debate fighting to get legislation passed.  And we will build on these changes this 2026 session.

Since 2023, I have been consistently and publicly opposed to carbon sequestration abuses: standing with the people of Lake Maurepas, opposing eminent domain expansions for carbon burial, and authoring HB4 in 2025 to give parishes opt-in and opt-out authority over carbon wells. More legislation from me and my conservative colleagues is coming this session, including efforts to end decades-old expropriation authority for foreign entities.

My record against the entire Green New Energy scam is not theoretical. In 2024, I authored legislation to remove electric vehicles from the state fleet. The bill was killed by crony capitalists, but my position was clear: current EVs are a terrible fit for law enforcement and first responders. When the power goes out during a hurricane, how would we charge fleets of emergency vehicles? This is common sense.

In 2021 and 2022, I voted to end solar tax credits, restrict unchecked solar expansion, and limit Chinese involvement in Louisiana energy projects. I have opposed ESG in this state and will continue to fight it until it is eradicated.

Guillory is free to criticize me. But calling me an “environmental radical” is as insane as claiming I supported vaccine mandates or John Bel Edwards. It is demonstrably false. Unfortunately, this is not the first time he has said fraudulent things about conservatives.

I will state this as plainly as I can: I stand with private property owners, not forced carbon burial conglomerates. No landowner should have their rights overridden for unwanted underground carbon storage. It should be illegal, and I will work with anyone willing to defend private property against this abuse. Mike Johnson and Brett Geymann stand there as well. They can speak for themselves—and I am sure they will.

Charles Owen, no “s,” is a State Legislator who represents portions of Vernon and Beauregard Parishes.   He is a retired military officer who worked in the intelligence business for 20 years as a commissioned officer and 15 years as a consultant.   He is currently an adjunct faculty for 3 universities.  He is serving in his 2^nd term as a House member.  Owen chairs the House Committee on Military and Veteran Affairs, is the Vice Chair of House Homeland Security and serves the Education, Appropriations and Municipal Affairs Committees.