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The Water Cooler
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An Open Letter to Oklahoma Businesses
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<blockquote data-quote="okiebryan" data-source="post: 1956308" data-attributes="member: 24457"><p>With open carry becoming the law of the land in Oklahoma soon, some business owners and managers are thinking about putting up "no guns" signs. I thought I'd take a minute to offer you some additional perspective regarding that decision.</p><p></p><p><strong>First of all, We'd like to introduce you to your typical Oklahoma gun owner.</strong></p><p>We are moms, dads, doctors, teachers, computer programmers, tow truck drivers, preachers, you name it; we are normal everyday people with one thing in common - we believe the responsibility for self-defense is our own. In addition to being very useful, guns are a great hobby and if you browse our forum, you'll see that we're just regular folks. We are the same people who have been concealed carrying for the last 16 years without incident.</p><p></p><p>The Constitution of the United States affirms our natural right to keep and bear firearms in defense of ourselves and our loved ones. In addition, the laws of the state of Oklahoma affirm this right, and allow us to carry after meeting certain criteria before obtaining a handgun license.</p><p></p><p><strong>Why is carrying a gun beneficial?</strong></p><p>We believe it gives us options should the unthinkable happen. Guns take the advantage away from the criminal and give it back to the citizen; allowing them to protect themselves, family members, and potentially YOU in your place of business. These days, with hard economic times, people agree that the chance of being a victim of a crime has increased substantially.</p><p></p><p><strong>Safety has not been compromised.</strong></p><p>We take gun ownership very seriously, and are statistically among the safest and most law-abiding citizens of the state. We don't wave guns around, we don't endanger anyone, and we will not draw a gun unless serious harm or death is imminent. Anyone with a handgun license must pass a state test which covers safe handling and proper use of a firearm.</p><p></p><p><strong>We will not spend our money at a store with a "No-Guns" sign.</strong></p><p>We don't carry where it's not allowed, and if your store has a "No-Guns" sign, we won't enter your store. Most of us make an effort to choose businesses that do not require us to be defenseless.</p><p></p><p>There are millions of us in this country; 80 million by recent estimates. If you have a "No-Guns" sign, our money will go to your gun-friendly competitors.</p><p></p><p>The Federal government estimated that there were over 65 million gun owners in</p><p>the U.S. and more than 50% were handgun owners. (2) This number is generally</p><p>considered low due to the reluctance of many to admit to a government agency that they</p><p>own a gun. Other estimates indicate that between 41% and 49% of U.S. households are</p><p>gun-owning households. As of October 2012, there are more than 135,000 handgun licensees</p><p>in Oklahoma, and this number grows every month.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Criminals, on the other hand, aren't stopped by signs. By definition, they disobey the law. Your sign will not stop a criminal, but actually make your business more inviting for them, as you have effectively disarmed anyone who is law-abiding.</p><p></p><p>Here's some relevant statistics from criminology surveys:</p><p>60% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed.</p><p>A survey of felons revealed the following:</p><p>57% of felons polled agreed, "criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police."</p><p>The same survey showed that criminals do not open carry, and do not use holsters.</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>What can you do?</strong></p><p>Please consider changing your policy to allow legally carried guns. This could be as simple as changing your wording to disallow illegal guns, instead of all guns, or to remove the signs altogether.</p><p></p><p>Thank you for taking the time to learn more about legally armed citizens in Oklahoma. If you would like to talk to us more about this, please inquire at <a href="mailto:info@okoca.org">info@okoca.org</a></p><p></p><p>Feel free to share this, but please cite Oklahoma Open Carry Association and link to <a href="http://okoca.org" target="_blank">http://okoca.org</a>. Thanks.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="okiebryan, post: 1956308, member: 24457"] With open carry becoming the law of the land in Oklahoma soon, some business owners and managers are thinking about putting up "no guns" signs. I thought I'd take a minute to offer you some additional perspective regarding that decision. [B]First of all, We'd like to introduce you to your typical Oklahoma gun owner.[/B] We are moms, dads, doctors, teachers, computer programmers, tow truck drivers, preachers, you name it; we are normal everyday people with one thing in common - we believe the responsibility for self-defense is our own. In addition to being very useful, guns are a great hobby and if you browse our forum, you'll see that we're just regular folks. We are the same people who have been concealed carrying for the last 16 years without incident. The Constitution of the United States affirms our natural right to keep and bear firearms in defense of ourselves and our loved ones. In addition, the laws of the state of Oklahoma affirm this right, and allow us to carry after meeting certain criteria before obtaining a handgun license. [B]Why is carrying a gun beneficial?[/B] We believe it gives us options should the unthinkable happen. Guns take the advantage away from the criminal and give it back to the citizen; allowing them to protect themselves, family members, and potentially YOU in your place of business. These days, with hard economic times, people agree that the chance of being a victim of a crime has increased substantially. [B]Safety has not been compromised.[/B] We take gun ownership very seriously, and are statistically among the safest and most law-abiding citizens of the state. We don't wave guns around, we don't endanger anyone, and we will not draw a gun unless serious harm or death is imminent. Anyone with a handgun license must pass a state test which covers safe handling and proper use of a firearm. [B]We will not spend our money at a store with a "No-Guns" sign.[/B] We don't carry where it's not allowed, and if your store has a "No-Guns" sign, we won't enter your store. Most of us make an effort to choose businesses that do not require us to be defenseless. There are millions of us in this country; 80 million by recent estimates. If you have a "No-Guns" sign, our money will go to your gun-friendly competitors. The Federal government estimated that there were over 65 million gun owners in the U.S. and more than 50% were handgun owners. (2) This number is generally considered low due to the reluctance of many to admit to a government agency that they own a gun. Other estimates indicate that between 41% and 49% of U.S. households are gun-owning households. As of October 2012, there are more than 135,000 handgun licensees in Oklahoma, and this number grows every month. Criminals, on the other hand, aren't stopped by signs. By definition, they disobey the law. Your sign will not stop a criminal, but actually make your business more inviting for them, as you have effectively disarmed anyone who is law-abiding. Here's some relevant statistics from criminology surveys: 60% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they knew the victim was armed. 40% of convicted felons admitted that they avoided committing crimes when they thought the victim might be armed. A survey of felons revealed the following: 57% of felons polled agreed, "criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police." The same survey showed that criminals do not open carry, and do not use holsters. [B]What can you do?[/B] Please consider changing your policy to allow legally carried guns. This could be as simple as changing your wording to disallow illegal guns, instead of all guns, or to remove the signs altogether. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about legally armed citizens in Oklahoma. If you would like to talk to us more about this, please inquire at [email]info@okoca.org[/email] Feel free to share this, but please cite Oklahoma Open Carry Association and link to [URL="http://okoca.org"]http://okoca.org[/URL]. Thanks. [/QUOTE]
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