Oklahoma House Approves Open Carry Gun Bill

By Steve Olafson

OKLAHOMA CITY--Law abiding citizens of Oklahoma who want to publicly carry a pistol on their hip or in a shoulder holster may do so under a bill overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday by the state House of Representatives.

The bill, which passed 85 to 9, will now go to the Oklahoma state Senate, where Representative Steve Martin, the Republican who sponsored the measure, said he believes it will be approved and then signed into law by Republican Governor Mary Fallin.

Martin described his bill as "mild" compared with laws in seven states that he said allow firearms to be carried openly without a screening process by authorities.

Every state in the nation except Illinois has some form of "concealed" carry law allowing citizens to carry guns. Most require gun safety training to get a permit.

The proposed Oklahoma law requires citizens to undergo the same training and a background check that has been required to obtain a concealed weapon license for past 17 years, Martin said.

The bill requires firearms openly carried in public to be in a belt or shoulder holster, scabbard or case.

It prohibits openly carrying guns into government offices, schools, bars, professional sporting arenas and private businesses that choose to prohibit firearms.

A similar bill was passed in 2010 but it was vetoed by then-Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, a Democrat.

The new bill includes an additional provision that allows police officers to ask anyone openly carrying a firearm to produce a permit.

(Editing by Greg McCune and Eric Beech)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[rda1911a1]

11:54 AM on 05/18/2012

Ok the law takes effect Nov 1 hopefully folks will quit carrying these little wimpy .380's now

[tazscanner]

06:40 PM on 04/10/2012

I wonder if I'd look that cool with a 9mm auto on my hip. Six shooters are just classic.

[Unca Allen]

06:31 PM on 04/10/2012

The Oklahoma governor who repealed the open-carry law was a Democrat? SURPRISE!!!!

[Lou Paezovitch]

04:59 PM on 03/15/2012

I live in Oklahoma and have a concealed carry permit. I would never even consider carrying open. If I am in a store that is about to get robbed, I would be the first one shot.

[IAMTHELAW]

12:15 AM on 04/05/2012

Yeah but it protects you should you imprint pr the wind lift your shirt and brandish your weapon which if you are caught for is a felony.

[Unca Allen]

06:32 PM on 04/10/2012

True. It's so much better to keep the criminals wondering who is armed.....

[PistolaBandera]

10:49 AM on 03/13/2012

As a violence policy advocate, the steps needed to end gun violence are clear.
The First step is to take advantage of high profile incidents.
The Second step is to marginalize legal gun use and historic precedent.
The Third step is to make some guns seem more dangerous than others, even if they are not.
The Fourth step is to register every sale.
The Fifth step is a robust “Shall Issue” permitting process.
The Final step is to encourage and incentivize the forfeiture of arms.

[CelticMajic]

10:51 AM on 03/13/2012

You forgot the part about where this came from. I look forward to reading that part.

[Royce Willard]

05:53 PM on 03/23/2012

Lol, Good luck with that, they started trying to abolish drugs like before we were born doofus and guess what? The bad guys still have drugs. And so why do you think it would be any different with guns, especially when an overwhelming majority wants to keep them. Lol. Sounds like you need to move to a perfect little country lol. And further more in other countries after outlawing guns violent crime went up. And stabbings tripled.

[dlp7202]

06:24 AM on 04/08/2012

Your continued use of "lol" in your comment weakens your point, for these laws are nothing to laugh about.
Everyone walking around with a lethal weapon is quite serious. That fact is pointed out by the very idea that guns cannot be carried where "government" officials may be exposed or threatened.
If these laws are so good for the public, as determined by elected officials, then these same people and their offices should not be exempt.

" And further more in other countries after outlawing guns violent crime went up. And stabbings tripled."

I would like to see some links for that, rather than lol. BTW, I am a life member of the NRA, and believe in 2nd amendment rights. But this is nuts.

[greeneyes51654m]

06:48 PM on 04/10/2012

Absolutely.

[Mike in San Pedro]

12:29 AM on 03/12/2012

Well that's it for me tonight. It's been a blast going to toe to toe with you gun lovers. I think we solved most problems hoplological. (Learned that word courtesy of Dave Carson). I hope you guys haven't been taking me serious. I'll let you guys have some fun riffing on that last statement.

Goodnight, gentlemen.

[Old Jarhead]

09:40 AM on 03/12/2012

Claiming to be an attorney, are you. Claim you make a living protecting peoples rights. Again, that is great. Now, please answer a question that concerns rights, since you seem to have "missed it" earlier.

What does the 2A protect?

What would be a violation of the 2A?

To whom is the 2A directed as a restriction?

Let's see how good of an attorney you are. Rights are not like a buffet line, to pick and choose. Man up, and answer the questions.

You have still failed to answer me as to what an "NRA statistic" is, do you have the integrity to even address the inquiry?

[wolflover3825]

10:23 AM on 03/12/2012

I have a small question also. If a client was accused of having a gun illegally in Chicago or New York when in fact that they legally could have a gun, would he have taken the case? Like Heller or MacDonald?

[WARHUKKER]

10:02 PM on 03/11/2012

I say we out law murder,and there will be no murder !!!!

[Unca Allen]

06:35 PM on 04/10/2012

Brilliant.

[lee1001]

05:57 PM on 04/12/2012

Good idea, we need more murder and drug control

[WARHUKKER]

09:51 PM on 03/11/2012

Carry a gun,because you can't carry a cop.

[Unca Allen]

06:35 PM on 04/10/2012

Good idea. Cops don't prevent crimes, they investigate them.

[loocodnom]

08:40 PM on 03/11/2012

Never forget, even for an instant, that the one and only reason anybody has for taking your gun away is to make you weaker than he is, so he can do something to you that you wouldn't let him do if you were equipped to prevent it. This goes for burglars, muggers, and rapists, and even more so for policemen, bureaucrats, and politicians.

[Mike in San Pedro]

05:12 PM on 03/11/2012

Some good news. Still too many, but getting better.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0312.pdf

The trend started well before the NRA's open/concealed fascination.

Australia, where I've spent a month, has real gun control. In 2010 Oz, a country of 22 million plus, had 260 homicides. Thirty-nine were by firearms. Have a read:

http://www.aic.gov.au/

[Rooster Coburn]

05:36 PM on 03/11/2012

"Oz" is a country? Do they have a president or a wizard or what?

[Mike in San Pedro]

06:12 PM on 03/11/2012

I assume you're have fun. Props for humor if so.

Dorothy is still running the show down there. The wizard was voted out of office.

[Old Jarhead]

05:53 PM on 03/11/2012

Here is another good resource.

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

The site compiles this data from reported FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

Australia, which is a beautiful country, has had low homicide rates for a long time. In the US, the homicide rate by means other than firearms still is much higher than the total homicide rates in many European countries. Hence, it isn't the firearms, it the income of the citizens, the stability of family and community, the legitimacy of the government (ie, the citizens of the country are afforded many rights), and many other factors. I haven't yet seen any government publication blame crime on the availability of firearms. Have you?

[Mike in San Pedro]

06:43 PM on 03/11/2012

"Hence, it isn't the firearms, it the income of the citizens, the stability of family and community, the legitimacy of the government (ie, the citizens of the country are afforded many rights), and many other factors." OJ

I disagree with the "it isn't the firearms" bit. That's ridiculous NRA party line. I do agree with the "many other factors" statement. One factor is the easy access to firearms here in the US. Every country has its Jared Loughners. In the US it is easy for them to obtain firearms. In the US I read about mass shootings about every two months. Sometimes less. These events aren't nearly as common in Japan, Oz, NZ, the UK etc. So OJ, what's your solution to preventing the next Jared Loughner from getting his firearms?

[Mike in San Pedro]

02:22 PM on 03/11/2012

Interesting stats on murder worldwide. And, refreshingly, it's from the UN, not from some BS self-serving NRA website. Have a read gun worshipers:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/10/world-murder-rate-unodc

Now before you boys say, "Yeah, well look at Switzerland where men are required . . . " Save your breath. Spare me the NRA line, I already know it. My response is: take a look at nearby Austria which has an even lower murder rate. Nearby Germany doesn't do too bad either.

Hey, how about retirement to those Caribbean paradises of Belize or Jamaica?

[legaleagle 45]

04:04 PM on 03/11/2012

And your point apparently is that correlation is equivalent to causation?

[Mike in San Pedro]

05:21 PM on 03/11/2012

I have a degree in math. I've taken statistics. (Have you legal sparrow?) Now what do you think? Read my other posts for your answer.

[Old Jarhead]

04:51 PM on 03/11/2012

Yes, it is interesting.

Notice in wealthy countries, with highly homogenous populations, good employment, very stable governments, and are ruled by laws, there is very little crime and homicides.

In the countries which could be considered as "third world", yet still with very strict gun control, the rates tend to be much higher. So, how can that be?

Answer is that the availability of firearms does not determine the rates of crime or homicide. Rwanda proved that in 1994, when genocide was accomplished with a plethora of weapons, including machetes.

[Mike in San Pedro]

07:18 PM on 03/11/2012

The answer is that First World countries such as the United States would have UK or Australian firearms death rates with UK or Australian style gun control.

"Guns make me safe" is the cover story for gun fetishists. Gun lovers don't want their playthings regulated. Maybe you can explain how your guns are going to prevent a burglary when you aren't home, OJ. How exactly are they going to do that? I would love to hear your answer.

[jack Winn]

11:47 PM on 04/10/2012

Yeah, but there's very strict gun control in those wealthy countries, too. Weapons are only a single element in a culture or economy that contribute or mitigate the sum total problems.

[Aurical]

08:04 PM on 03/10/2012

If only they could get their legislators to introduce jobs bills with the same determination and grit. I don't recall them running on obstructionism, union busting and appeasing lobby interests.

[Old Jarhead]

01:43 PM on 03/11/2012

I just found a fascinating web page. Of the states I selected, with Oklahoma being the baseline, not one state of the other 11 I selected has a lower unemployment rate. It's easy to do, just click on the states you want to compare to on the left hand side.

http://tinyurl.com/7xu38dl

I am not saying that OK has the lowest unemployment rate. But it is amazingly low when one considers the reservations which take up a huge amount of land in the state, and reservations traditionally have suffered crushing poverty and lack of employment opportunities.

[Aurical]

02:29 PM on 03/11/2012

They keep buying that snake oil and wondering why they aren't feeling any better!

[Royce Willard]

06:11 PM on 03/23/2012

I live in Oklahoma, and we really don't even see anything changed at all, seen no layoffs, prices about the same. Plenty jobs. Land is cheap. Lol. I guess us hicks are pretty smart, California cant seem to balance a check book even with all their brilliant liberals. Lol.

[rikilii]

10:11 PM on 03/12/2012

What is a "jobs bill".  Does it go something like this: "We, the legislature of the great state of Oklahoma, hereby declare that there shall be more jobs!"

[Aurical]

11:27 PM on 03/12/2012

Ate you serious or kidding? You are aware of the many infrastructure projects that would have put millions to work that were fought tooth and nail by republican governors.

[Aurical]

12:09 AM on 03/13/2012

*Are* I guess after further review, I get my answer. Over 6 thousand posts and 7 fans, I have seen all I need to see.

[invmartyc]

05:38 PM on 03/10/2012

States that allow open carry are Alabama, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont, Kentucky, and Virginia.

State allowing open carry with restrictions are Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

I admit this is more than I thought but far less than the 40 that some claimed. I cout 25, so there are 25 who do not allow it.

[Old Jarhead]

07:29 PM on 03/10/2012

Vermont and New Hampshire are very friendly to open carry. Vermont has nearly no restrictions on firearms or carry, and have one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, Colorado, the Dakotas, and several others allow open carry with differing restrictions.

Here is a link to all the states and the status of open carry.

http://www.opencarry.org/opencarry.html

While many states do allow open carry, in many it is very rare. For instance, NJ barely allows a purchase permit, much less carry. I would guess there are somewhere between 25 and 30 states where open carry is common.

[wolflover3825]

08:20 PM on 03/10/2012

You're not quite correct in the states that allow open carry. You're missing some. So that raises your total of states that have open carry. You should do better research.

[invmartyc]

11:07 AM on 03/11/2012

Just going by what three web sites listed. If I am wrong I am wrong. I can be an adult and admit it.

[invmartyc]

02:49 PM on 03/10/2012

I spoke my feelings on this subject and I got the anger of a few people.

I did check a non wikipedia site about open carry. There are at least 40 that allow concealed weapons. Only a few allow "open" carry.

I never said that kindergarden kids would be given permits.

I said that police had enough to do than to check out every person with a gun strapped on. I only said that open carry will cause problems. People who are not comfortable with guns will feel threathened and will call police about a suspicious person with a gun.

You think that these checks on permits are done by other people in offices. Yes, that is one way. A MCT is another. But systems break down, get slow. Budgets get cut and people get laid off. This is not a fail safe system. If one cop gets killed over this issue it is one too many for me.

And the anger I was given tells me that I was correct about one thing: Not all people who want to strap on a gun has the temperment to do so. Once you pull that trigger you have no control where that bullet goes. And they go a long way. Maybe hitting a bad guy, or maybe hitting a person watching TV in their living room. It happens very often, too often.

Enough said.

[wolflover3825]

08:48 PM on 03/10/2012

"I never said that kindergarden kids would be given permits."

You may not have said those exact words, but you did say these exact words

"We are talking Oklahoma here, kindergarden kids will be packing heat!"

Remember those? And you keep denying the fact that there are about 40 states that all for OPEN CARRY. There are 49 states that have concealed carry in some form. For a 'police officer' you're not very factual or observant of facts.

[invmartyc]

11:34 AM on 03/11/2012

And I also said that I was kidding and I was lightening up the subject but I guess you missed that.

I admitted I was wrong on how many states have open carry. But I still say you are too high according to the five or six sites I checked.

And you insist on attacking me personally. Grow up! You are just proving that if you can get this pissed on a web site how are you going to be in a heated confrontation armed with a gun? I think you have too short a fuse and you might want to consider some anger management classes. And no matter what you say I served 30 years in law enforcement in Florida and dealt with hot heads like you a great deal. I just would not like to have to deal with a hot head carrying a 45 on his side.

[Unca Allen]

06:47 PM on 04/10/2012

Those who have an unrealistic fear of guns always overlook the fact that you have to be 21+ and pass a background check by the FBI, and take firearms safety classes.

[Mike in San Pedro]

02:28 PM on 03/11/2012

"Enough said." invmartyc

And well said. All of it. By someone with the experience and the gravitas.

[RevJimIII]

06:11 PM on 03/09/2012

<--- Doing happy dance.. I'm shufflin on down to the local gun store who puts on permit classes and whistling a happy tune..

[ScorpioTop]

07:31 PM on 03/09/2012

Grotesque. The NRA has bought our legislators and robbed us of our freedom.

[RevJimIII]

08:02 PM on 03/09/2012

Get relevant.

[David Carson]

08:29 PM on 03/09/2012

the NRA is powerful because it has a large membership

[stymie500r]

10:56 AM on 03/10/2012

I love the smell of anti gunner"s brain sizzle in the morning! ahhhh click click and in view baby!

[ScorpioTop]

03:20 PM on 03/10/2012

Flagged. Threatening murder is against TOS.