Ok, well, I wanted to start a new thread about this particular bill after a lengthy email discussion with my State Representative.
I have been discussing this bill with Rep. Earl Sears over the last week or so. For those who don't know, the bill amends current law to allow for open carry of firearms in Oklahoma, one of only 6 states left in the U.S. with absolutely no provision for open carry of firearms.
The bill was introduced on Feb. 2, 2009 by Rep. Ritze. It was read, then sent for a second reading to the Public Safety committee, where it has sat and done NOTHING for the last 10 months. My understanding of the process is that Rep. Tibbs, the chairperson of the committee, has refused to allow the bill to be heard in her committee. This is, unfortunately, the rule. A chairperson has absolute authority over which bills may or may not be presented to their panel.
Quite frankly, as many of us see this, it is a blatant intrusion on our civil rights to prevent us from carrying our weapons for personal defense in public.
The bill, according to Rep. Sears is NOT dead... it is only sitting in limbo waiting to be heard... indefinitely! While he has assured me that he does support open carry in Oklahoma and the literal interpretation of the 2nd Amendment in general, I have asked him to co-sponsor this bill, or another like it. The deadline for introducing new bills for this session of the House is rapidly approaching, I believe on Dec. 11th? I can't say I have a great grasp of how the whole legislative process works in this instance, but I do know that without support, a bill such as this will never have a chance of passing.
Rep. Sears has assured me that he will be contacting Rep. Tibbs to ask her to allow this bill to move forward and be heard in her committee, and from there, possibly on to a full House vote. I would like to ask everyone here to do the same.
Here's where this gets really important:
It is imperative that any of us who contact our State legislators do so in a professional and courteous manner. Please write and/or call your legislators. But when you do, make sure you are concise, polite, well-spoken and PLEASE make sure your spelling is impeccable! Firefox has a built-in spell checker that will help you in this. If you call, have 1 or 2 salient points to bring up, please do not ramble, do not be argumentative, and if necessary, have a written statement or outline with your points on it, so you do not stumble on your words or anything to give them (your legislators) an excuse to write you off as simply illiterate, poorly-educated right-wing nutcases.
You don't have to be Harvard-educated to put together a coherent statement, and email is great for this, as you can re-edit many times before you hit the send button.
This is something we CAN get accomplished, folks! Personally, I have emailed both my Senator and Representative, and will be both calling and emailing Rep. Ritze (the bill's author) to encourage its resurrection, and Rep. Tibbs, to let her know that this is something we want PASSED!
There is also a petition online here that each and every one of us should sign, along with anyone we know whom we can convince of the importance of this issue.
Sorry for the longwindedness, and I hope I am not coming across wrong, I am just passionate about this issue and would hope that I can encourage many of my fellow enthusiasts to get involved. I have been heartened by the personal responses from my State Representative and intend to be as involved in the process as I can be.
I would be more than happy to help anyone find the contact information for their respective legislators, although there is a link in the stickies in this forum for that purpose. Don't give up! WE ARE THE ONES who will make this happen... if we do nothing, the sheeple will WIN! How important are your rights? Worth a few emails? A few phone calls? Even a <gasp> written letter????
I have been discussing this bill with Rep. Earl Sears over the last week or so. For those who don't know, the bill amends current law to allow for open carry of firearms in Oklahoma, one of only 6 states left in the U.S. with absolutely no provision for open carry of firearms.
The bill was introduced on Feb. 2, 2009 by Rep. Ritze. It was read, then sent for a second reading to the Public Safety committee, where it has sat and done NOTHING for the last 10 months. My understanding of the process is that Rep. Tibbs, the chairperson of the committee, has refused to allow the bill to be heard in her committee. This is, unfortunately, the rule. A chairperson has absolute authority over which bills may or may not be presented to their panel.
Quite frankly, as many of us see this, it is a blatant intrusion on our civil rights to prevent us from carrying our weapons for personal defense in public.
The bill, according to Rep. Sears is NOT dead... it is only sitting in limbo waiting to be heard... indefinitely! While he has assured me that he does support open carry in Oklahoma and the literal interpretation of the 2nd Amendment in general, I have asked him to co-sponsor this bill, or another like it. The deadline for introducing new bills for this session of the House is rapidly approaching, I believe on Dec. 11th? I can't say I have a great grasp of how the whole legislative process works in this instance, but I do know that without support, a bill such as this will never have a chance of passing.
Rep. Sears has assured me that he will be contacting Rep. Tibbs to ask her to allow this bill to move forward and be heard in her committee, and from there, possibly on to a full House vote. I would like to ask everyone here to do the same.
Here's where this gets really important:
It is imperative that any of us who contact our State legislators do so in a professional and courteous manner. Please write and/or call your legislators. But when you do, make sure you are concise, polite, well-spoken and PLEASE make sure your spelling is impeccable! Firefox has a built-in spell checker that will help you in this. If you call, have 1 or 2 salient points to bring up, please do not ramble, do not be argumentative, and if necessary, have a written statement or outline with your points on it, so you do not stumble on your words or anything to give them (your legislators) an excuse to write you off as simply illiterate, poorly-educated right-wing nutcases.
You don't have to be Harvard-educated to put together a coherent statement, and email is great for this, as you can re-edit many times before you hit the send button.
This is something we CAN get accomplished, folks! Personally, I have emailed both my Senator and Representative, and will be both calling and emailing Rep. Ritze (the bill's author) to encourage its resurrection, and Rep. Tibbs, to let her know that this is something we want PASSED!
There is also a petition online here that each and every one of us should sign, along with anyone we know whom we can convince of the importance of this issue.
Sorry for the longwindedness, and I hope I am not coming across wrong, I am just passionate about this issue and would hope that I can encourage many of my fellow enthusiasts to get involved. I have been heartened by the personal responses from my State Representative and intend to be as involved in the process as I can be.
I would be more than happy to help anyone find the contact information for their respective legislators, although there is a link in the stickies in this forum for that purpose. Don't give up! WE ARE THE ONES who will make this happen... if we do nothing, the sheeple will WIN! How important are your rights? Worth a few emails? A few phone calls? Even a <gasp> written letter????
