Last chance to get open carry passed this year: pls read and make calls

[abajaj11]

new thread because it combines sen and house bills on open carry and deals with the deadline looming this thursday. This is our last chance to get OC passed. Please read below and make calls.

From OK2A: Tim Gillespie
ACTION ALERT: Open Carry Stalls Out

As people have asked me what chance open carry has of being signed into law this year, I have responded that I am "cautiously optimistic." However, my cautious optimism is slowly turning into aggravated pessimism. Neither HB2522 or SB1733 have been scheduled for floor hearings yet and the deadline is Thursday April 26. Why have these bills, which have sailed through seemingly without a hitch so far, suddenly stalled out?

SB1733 is supposedly being stalled because the Senate author, Senator Anthony Sykes, is playing games with a House bill. We've been told Sen. Sykes is using a House bill to try to redraw some judicial district lines so that he and some of his cronies will be able to run for the bench and win easily. Senator Sykes won't return our calls and has ignored repeated requests to schedule a meeting, so we have not been able to hear his side of the story, however, if this is true, then shame on him. But, that's not a valid reason to hold up a good bill. Using our time and our business to settle a personal vendetta is not acceptable. Call Speaker Steele and the Floor Leader, Representative DeWitt, and politely tell them to quit holding the Second Amendment hostage to settle a problem with another legislator. Tell them to schedule SB1733 for a hearing on the floor immediately. Speaker Steele can be contacted at 405-557-7345 or [email protected] and Rep. DeWitt can be contacted at 405-557-7332 or [email protected]. If you would like to see if Senator Sykes will share his side of this story with you, he may be contacted at 405-521-5569 or [email protected].

Some say HB2522 has stalled because it was changed and no longer would require a state-issued license. I don't believe that to be the case. Unlicensed open carry passed the Senate with ease last year. Also, I believe that Governor Fallin would sign the bill if it were sent to her. The House, however, is another story. I believe the House leadership would try to kill the bill. This bill is the strongest of the two and needs to be heard by the Senate and sent back to the House. The House needs to be forced to show us (not just tell us) where they stand on allowing you and me to exercise our God-given, Constitutionally-protected right without having to pay the state to do it. They need to be forced into an up or down, yes or no vote on unlicensed open carry. Senator Shulz has been helpful with 2A bills in the past, we want to encourage him to continue. Call Senator Shulz and thank him for his past support of 2A legislation and then politely tell him you are not comfortable with waiting to see what the House does with SB1733. Politely ask him to take the lead on this issue by immediately scheduling HB2522 for a vote on the Senate floor. Senator Shulz may be contacted at 405-521-5612 or [email protected].

 

[SMS]

Opinion follows: It ain't happening this year. Even if it was originally bound for serious consideration, the aftermath of Zimmerman/Martin and the the Tulsa killings sunk any chances IMHO.

Our politicians, including our Govenor, don't have the political courage to put us on the scope as "The state that legalized open carry in the aftermath of Zimmerman/Martin and the Tulsa murders."

 

[Glocktogo]

I don't think they had any courage to pass this thisng even before the Zimmerman incident. Question is, do they really think they're fooling anyone?

 

[oklacowboy]

They need to be held accountable. They are there to do a job and it's not getting done. They are wasting tax dollars playing games. They are using the issue to play their political games when the issue is really very simple. With 43 states having some version of OC why must OK make this that difficult.

What can be done to hold them accountable? Voting them out doesn't seem to be working. If I went to work and didn't do my job I would get fired. Shouldn't it be the same for them?

 

[SMS]

They need to be held accountable. They are there to do a job and it's not getting done. They are wasting tax dollars playing games. They are using the issue to play their political games when the issue is really very simple. With 43 states having some version of OC why must OK make this that difficult.

What can be done to hold them accountable? Voting them out doesn't seem to be working. If I went to work and didn't do my job I would get fired. Shouldn't it be the same for them?

I agree that they are wasting time and playing games...they shouldn't be working on open carry at all. Unless they are working for or promoting Constitutional Carry it is all a waste of time.

Of all the troubles facing the state, and of all the things I want them to work on: economic growth, rolling back .gov intrusion, infrastructure rebuilding etc...open carry is not high on my percieved list of needs. I submit that it is a want and a distraction.

When I lay awake at night thinking about my family's future, I don't think "You know, if we just had open carry everything would be alright."

 

[Michael Brown]

I agree that they are wasting time and playing games...they shouldn't be working on licensed open carry at all. Unless they are working for or promoting Constitutional Carry it is all a waste of time.

Of all the troubles facing the state, and of all the things I want them to work on: economic growth, rolling back .gov intrusion, infrastructure rebuilding etc...licensed open carry is not high on my percieved list of needs. I submit that it is a want and a distraction.

This.

Michael Brown

 

[oklacowboy]

I agree that they are wasting time and playing games...they shouldn't be working on open carry at all. Unless they are working for or promoting Constitutional Carry it is all a waste of time.

Of all the troubles facing the state, and of all the things I want them to work on: economic growth, rolling back .gov intrusion, infrastructure rebuilding etc...open carry is not high on my percieved list of needs. I submit that it is a want and a distraction.

When I lay awake at night thinking about my family's future, I don't think "You know, if we just had open carry everything would be alright."

I agree there are more important issues than open carry. Open carry shouldn't even be an issue. Constitutional carry should be something we already have. I wasn't discussing those other issues though, I was discussing OC in OK.

 

[Honeybee]

Like I told you months ago, It will purposly get posted for a vote on the trailing edge of the last day and they will never get to it. This is a very well known ploy to let us know that they are on our side but just can't do it.

 

[abajaj11]

I agree that they are wasting time and playing games...they shouldn't be working on open carry at all. Unless they are working for or promoting Constitutional Carry it is all a waste of time.

Of all the troubles facing the state, and of all the things I want them to work on: economic growth, rolling back .gov intrusion, infrastructure rebuilding etc...open carry is not high on my percieved list of needs. I submit that it is a want and a distraction.

When I lay awake at night thinking about my family's future, I don't think "You know, if we just had open carry everything would be alright."

True we have more pressing issues. However, there are many real benefits to open carry. Here is some stuff I got from the web from http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showthread.php?35289-The-Benefits-of-Open-Carry
_________________________
The Benefits of Open Carry

Open carry is a compelling visual deterrent to would be criminals.

Criminals while opportunistic, still assess risks, profile their victims, and tend to avoid ‘hard’ targets. A conspicuously armed citizen raises the stakes in any attempt a criminal might make. Seeing such people conduct their daily business would make a perpetrator far more wary, than among a population carrying concealed or one that was unarmed.

The Wright-Rossi felon survey conducted through a grant from the Department of Justice in 1982-1983 revealed the following;

56% of the felons surveyed agreed that "A criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun;"

A 57% majority agreed that "Most criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police."

Nearly 40% said there was at least one time when the criminal "decided not to do a crime because [he] knew or believed that the victim was carrying a gun."

Open carry is tactically superior and safer than concealed carry.
Police do not conceal their firearms as it is expected they will be armed and it would increase their draw response time leaving them vulnerable to attack. The citizen deserves equal opportunity to defend themselves from assailants. It is already tactically difficult to draw against an assailant who already has a weapon in hand; fumbling with clothing or a waist pack would make it impossible for a practical defense in such a situation. With a firearm secured in a waist pack it is impossible to draw while seat belted in a vehicle. A weapon kept in a concealment ‘day planner’, the glove compartment or center console isn’t adequately secured for retention or proper use.

Open carry increases law enforcements situational awareness
Every officer must assume that everyone they encounter could be armed. A citizen, with the firearm displayed plainly in their holster, when both their hands and the weapon are visible, leaves no room for interpretation of their movements. The officer doesn’t need to ask where the weapon is- they can see it. The conscious decision to openly arm their selves also indicates they aren’t likely criminals, as most criminals rely on keeping their activities clandestine. In places where a license or permit is required to carry openly, an officer can be assured (after checking the permit), that the citizen has already been subjected to the scrutiny of a background check and fingerprinting- something a criminal isn’t apt to submit to.

Open carry increases community awareness.
Regularly seeing lawfully armed citizens aids in dispelling the misconception that only police and ‘bad guys’ carry firearms. Gun owners are regular people- and seldom fit the stereotypes that are perpetuated by television, movies, and mass media such as ‘gun nuts’, lone-wackos, or criminals. Seeing that friends and neighbors carry can defuse the mystery and menace perceived of firearms and their owners.


Why would anyone consider open carry necessary?
Open carry is legal.
Open carry is presumptively legal unless specifically prohibited by state statute
Open carry is lawful to some degree in 43 States. Only seven States prohibit open carry.
Police have no Constitutional or lawful obligation to protect an individual from harm.
Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981), states: “fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.”

Concealed carry stigmatizes those who exercise the right to keep and bear arms.
Those who keep and bear arms have the same right to presumptive innocence as any other person, under any other circumstance. Yet, existing law and the disposition of law enforcement treat these people as if a crime as already been committed, subjecting them to greater scrutiny upon apprehension, even after subjecting CCW permit applicants to background checks, fingerprinting and issuing a revocable permit. The requirement to carry their firearm concealed places them in the back of the bus, under the pretense of public safety, protecting others from being offended or alarmed. The founding documents, State and local law have made no such provision for the protection of someone’s personal displeasure. Arming oneself for self-defense is not a privilege, reserved for a select few at the permission of the State, but a right all people should be free to exercise without discrimination or interference from authorities. Mandated concealment is just such an infringement.

__________________

 

[jwv]

Like I told you months ago, It will purposly get posted for a vote on the trailing edge of the last day and they will never get to it. This is a very well known ploy to let us know that they are on our side but just can't do it.

Well I called the numbers that were given and told the office receptionist to give them the message that the bills need to be voted on and NOT to let them die.They said that my message would be given to them. Of course I didn't get to talk with any of Representatives or Senators. They will always have an excuse, they tell us they support open carry but when it's all said and done all we get is a wet backside from them.