HB2522: Open Carry

[okiebryan]

ACTION ALERT: HB2522 (Open Carry) to be Heard Today Wednesday 3/14/2012
Rep. Martin's open carry "omnibus" bill is set to be heard by the House Public Safety Committee this Wednesday at 10:30 am in Room 432A at the State Capitol. We expect this to be a very close vote. Please call all members of the committee and ask them to support HB2522. You can find the committee roster with contact information here. Also scheduled to be heard by the committee is Rep. Enns' casual exposure bill, HB2416. Also ask the committee members to support it. We are also asking anyone who is able to please attend the meeting this Wednesday. If you plan to attend, please arrive as early as possible because they have been known to start committee meeting early.

This bill passed out of the House Public Safety Committee on Feb 29th. I'm confused by this post.

This bill is on the Senate Calendar today for it's 2nd reading. All that means is that it gets assigned to a committee. We still need to wait a bit before springing into action.

 

[kinggabby]

According to the Senate site it shows it is on the calender for today. Whether or not it gets read today I don't know. The following link shows it on the calender but it does not show it under Senate agenda. arms may be carried by handgun licensees; effective date.http://www.oksenate.gov/schedule/calendar.aspx

 

[av8r115]

Big thank you for starting a new thread and for keeping us all informed of what's going on with this.

 

[Seth247]

The 29th was also a Wednesday. I think somebody just got their Wednesday's mixed up.

 

[Seth247]

Just received from the NRA;


Please Contact Senate Committee Members and Urge Support for House Bill 2522

House Bill 2522, introduced by state Representative Steve Martin (R-10), is an NRA-backed omnibus firearm bill which would make significant improvements to Oklahoma gun laws.* After gaining approval in the House last week, House Bill 2522 was sent to the Senate where it is authored by state Senator Greg Treat (R-47). Yesterday, HB 2522 was assigned to the Senate Public Safety Committee and now awaits a hearing.* Please contact members of the Senate Public Safety Committee TODAY and urge them to support this important firearms legislation.

House Bill 2522 contains several important provisions, including:

·******** Language prohibiting persons, property owners and companies from banning ammunition in locked vehicles;

·******** A provision to allow people to carry firearms openly on their private property; and

·******** Revisions to current Oklahoma statute striking the word “concealed” from Oklahoma firearm permit citations and applying the lawful open carrying of firearms to Oklahoma's firearm preemption law.

The state House approved an amendment to remove “immediate” from the ambiguous “immediate notification” requirement for carry permit holders when stopped by law enforcement officials, making notification required instead at the first opportunity. This amendment also lowered the associated fine from $500 to $100 for non-compliance.

The NRA will continue working with your state legislators to resolve the issues addressed by this bill, and will keep you updated.

Again, please contact members of Senate Public Safety Committee and urge their support of NRA-backed HB 2522!

Senate Public Safety Committee Members:

Senator Don Barrington – Chairman, (R-31)
(405) 521-5563
[email protected]

Senator Ralph Shortey - Vice Chairman, (R-44)
(405) 521-5557
[email protected]

Senator Roger Ballenger (D-8)
(405) 521-5588
[email protected]

Senator Kim David (R-18)
(405) 521-5590
[email protected]

Senator Earl Garrison (D-9)
(405) 521-5533
[email protected]

Senator Constance Johnson (D-48)
(405) 521-5531
[email protected]

Senator Ron Justice (R-23)
(405) 521-5537
[email protected]

Senator Steve Russell (R-45)
(405) 521-5618
[email protected]

Senator Anthony Sykes (R-24)
(405) 521-5569
[email protected]

 

[tRidiot]

Sent to all on the Public Safety Committee:

Dear Oklahoma Senators,

I am writing to you as members of the Oklahoma Senate's Public Safety Committee to ask for your support and endorsement of HB2522, which has been passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority and sent for approval to the Senate.

I am a firm believer in the right of the average citizen to own and carry firearms as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and I hope that you are, as well. I have heard some of the inflammatory language used by our government representatives in the past with similar bills which had me literally hanging my head in shame at the antics of such supposedly educated people. Phrases such as "blood in the streets", "shootouts like the OK Corral" and "the ways of the Old West" simply do not apply. Oklahoma's record of supporting the rights of law-abiding citizens who own firearms has been woefully lacking for quite some time. In fact, 43 other states in the nation (even California!) currently allow open carry of firearms in some manner, yet in spite much of the media's open and unapologetic anti-gun bias, we can hardly find a story where those openly-carried firearms have been of any significant detriment to a polite society. Are these other 43 states filled to the brim with people who are of better sense, a greater sense of responsibility or are generally more law-abiding than Oklahoma? I say no, they are not. Even in the so-called liberal northeast, the only state which lacks any provision for lawful open carry of firearms is New York State (not what I would call great company!). A whopping 13 states currently have what some call "Constitutional Carry", that is, the right to openly carry a firearm without any kind of registration or permit whatsoever. Yet... there is no blood running in their streets. Their law enforcement officers are not being routinely attacked by those law-abiding citizens exercising their Constitutionally-guaranteed right to ownership and possession of firearms.

I do understand the trepidation that guns can cause amongst those in today's society who have not been raised around weapons, nor taught to respect and utilize them simply as the tools which they are. However, giving in to fear and ignorance is not the answer. Restoration of our rights as citizens of the United States as envisioned by the Founding Fathers is what is right. Allowing the common man to once again see calm, respectful and law-abiding citizens exercising their right to open carry without detriment to society as a whole will help educate and encourage people to proudly walk as Americans, the most free and independent society in the history of the world. The common citizen these days is no less capable of or deserving of the right to self-preservation and protection wherever he or she chooses to go than in the days of the enacting of the Bill of Rights. In fact, OSBI statistics show that Oklahoma's Concealed Carry Weapons permit-holders (the only ones who would be allowed to carry either concealed or openly under the currently-proposed bills) actually commit crimes at a rate lower even than that of our law enforcement community!

I urge you to wholeheartedly support this initiative passed last week by the Oklahoma House and send it for a full vote, later to be signed into law by Governor Fallin. I do realize the Oklahoma Senate passed a similar bill recently, but there are minor differences in the House version which I believe make it a slightly better piece of legislation, fully deserving of enactment into Oklahoma state law.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help in any way, or if you would like to discuss the matter further through this email address. I anxiously await the passage of this bill and will be watching with the rest of Oklahoma's very large gun-owning and -utilizing community.

Sincerely,
tRdoc

 

[tRidiot]

I believe carrying a weapon inside your place of business is essentially the same as carrying in your home. But not out in the parking lot or front yard.

Could be wrong, there, though.

 

[Dale00]

Excellent letter, tRdoc.

I hope the reading comprehension level of the legislators is high enough to allow them to comprehend your points.

 

[Seth247]

Holy gigantor paragraphs batman!

 

[oklacowboy]

tRdoc, great letter.