SB1556 by Jerry Ellis?

[vdub]

Looks like they were playing Chicken Little, The Sky is Falling. Seems the intent of the bill was to make it illegal for residents of Oklahoma to have an out of state concealed handgun permit/license. I guess the Senator and Oklahoma Rifle Association are both in agreement that the wording was bad. I wish gun rights groups would try and find out what is going on before stating things are different than what is really going on. Kind of makes us all look like we jump off the cliff then try to figure out what is going on while we wait for the abrupt stop to the ride.

http://ok2a.org/update-sb1556-by-senator-ellis-is-still-a-bad-bill

 

[Werewolf]

Looks like they were playing Chicken Little, The Sky is Falling. Seems the intent of the bill was to make it illegal for residents of Oklahoma to have an out of state concealed handgun permit/license. I guess the Senator and Oklahoma Rifle Association are both in agreement that the wording was bad. I wish gun rights groups would try and find out what is going on before stating things are different than what is really going on. Kind of makes us all look like we jump off the cliff then try to figure out what is going on while we wait for the abrupt stop to the ride.

http://ok2a.org/update-sb1556-by-senator-ellis-is-still-a-bad-bill

I honestly believe that OK2A has their hearts in the right place with the caveat that just like GOA they do tend to either over react, read more into or just plain sensationalize their take on gun related subjects for reasons unknown. They're not nearly as bad as GOA in this regard but the e'mail I got from them re: OP msg - sure falls into the over react or sensationalize category IMO.

 

[dieseltech09]

Yeah Im not sure I would say they were over reacting. You and I both were confused when we read it, maybe they should have looked into it a little more but Im not going to fault them for that. At least OK2A is fighting for us, which is more than I can say about the ORA.

 

[abajaj11]

I went ahead and read it. seems like they are reducing gun rights in OK, by taking away reciprocity completely.
You will NEED to apply for an OK CCW now, whether you have one from another state or not.
It seems to be terrible legislation. Maybe someone can correct me if this is not true.

 

[vdub]

I honestly believe that OK2A has their hearts in the right place with the caveat that just like GOA they do tend to either over react, read more into or just plain sensationalize their take on gun related subjects for reasons unknown. They're not nearly as bad as GOA in this regard but the e'mail I got from them re: OP msg - sure falls into the over react or sensationalize category IMO.

While I am sure they do have their hearts in the right place, the statement they released jumped the shark and didn't lend to their credibility any. I think their initial release was a little overboard without what seems to be no contact with the bill's author. I hope they learn from this and realize that they need to do a little research before posting like they did. A post stating: "SB1556 introduced by Senator Ellis might be an attack on Oklahoma 2A rights and we are trying to contact Senator Ellis to gather more information. We will report back when we get more information as to the intent of this bill." This would have been a much better way to handle it at first. If the bill was really doing what they said, I would have been part of the campaign to urge my Senator to fight against the bill. I think I will send him an email anyway to bring it to his attention as the changes as described do not do anything for Oklahomans.

Yeah Im not sure I would say they were over reacting. You and I both were confused when we read it, maybe they should have looked into it a little more but Im not going to fault them for that. At least OK2A is fighting for us, which is more than I can say about the ORA.

I agree about the confusion and that is why I emailed Senator Ellis asking for clarfication. I even mentioned that I had hoped he was not trying to remove recprocity with other states' CHLs or put further restrictions on concealed carry. Gun rights groups and gun owners already have enough negative stereotypes and misconceptions to fight against, we should be sure to do our due dilligence to make sure we do not add to them. I do agree it seems ORA seems to be pushing more restrictions on gun rights for Oklahomans with what is now known as the intent of this bill. Just hope O2A thinks twice before they jump the shark in the future and ORA thinks twice about backing this bill any further.

I went ahead and read it. seems like they are reducing gun rights in OK, by taking away reciprocity completely.
You will NEED to apply for an OK CCW now, whether you have one from another state or not.
It seems to be terrible legislation. Maybe someone can correct me if this is not true.

Read my post a few above yours as that is not what Senator Ellis and ORA are saying is the true intentions of the bill. Don't take the removal of that specific section and replacement with new language as being a complete removal of all reciprocity with other states as it seems to be more of a protection of revenue from CHL fees.

 

[Alan Frizzell]

vdub, the update in your post 11 doesn't indicate Senator Ellis's intention in the bill, just states "the language in the bill is an error". Did he reply to your e'mail with further explanation? Please update if he has responded. Perhaps the language in the bill will be "corrected" and we will know then the intent.

[UPDATE: SB1556 By Senator Ellis Is Still A Bad Bill]


"If you watched Fox 25's 9:00 pm news broadcast on Monday night, you may have seen the interview with OK2A founder and director, Tim Gillespie, about the mix-up with SB1556 by Senator Ellis. The language contained in the bill would do away with all reciprocal agreements for concealed carry permits in Oklahoma. Senator Ellis, the author, and the Oklahoma Rifle Association, the sponsor, have both said that the language in the bill is an error. That's fine; and we are more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this since some of our bills have been botched by staff members as well. They say the bill was meant to make it illegal for Oklahoma residents to have a concealed carry permit from another state. It is still a bad bill."

 

[abajaj11]

"They say the bill was meant to make it illegal for Oklahoma residents to have a concealed carry permit from another state."

That makes it a very bad bill in my opinion.
If our state legislators become addicted to money they collect from us because we choose to exercise our 2A rights (a right that should be free like the firs amendment right) and start treating this money they collect as "revenue" then there is NO way constitutional carry will ever pass in this state. they'll never give up their "revenue".

Also, there are a bunch of folk who carry permits from 2-3 states, so that if one expires they have another one to cover them till they renew the first permit. This bill, if made into law, will effectively preclude you from carrying if your OK permit takes too long to renew, which may well happen if there are bureaucratic delays.

 

[vdub]

vdub, the update in your post 11 doesn't indicate Senator Ellis's intention in the bill, just states "the language in the bill is an error". Did he reply to your e'mail with further explanation? Please update if he has responded. Perhaps the language in the bill will be "corrected" and we will know then the intent.
[UPDATE: SB1556 By Senator Ellis Is Still A Bad Bill]
"If you watched Fox 25's 9:00 pm news broadcast on Monday night, you may have seen the interview with OK2A founder and director, Tim Gillespie, about the mix-up with SB1556 by Senator Ellis. The language contained in the bill would do away with all reciprocal agreements for concealed carry permits in Oklahoma. Senator Ellis, the author, and the Oklahoma Rifle Association, the sponsor, have both said that the language in the bill is an error. That's fine; and we are more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this since some of our bills have been botched by staff members as well. They say the bill was meant to make it illegal for Oklahoma residents to have a concealed carry permit from another state. It is still a bad bill."

If you will read what I posted to abajaj11 and the bold part above you copied from the link I posted, that is what I was basing the "his intentions" part of my post on. I was not saying that was what the bill was actually doing or that is what I necessarily believed the bill was doing. You can see from previous posts, I found two ways to read the changes in the bills. I was merely stating that bill as Senator Ellis supposedly intended is not getting rid of reciprocity with other states but strictly make it illegal for residents of Oklahoma to carry CHL's issued by a state other than Oklahoma. Is that what he really intended and is just changing his story now that people caught on? Who knows. I don't personally know the Senator but with the nature of gun rights in Oklahoma being behind other states, I would not give him the benefit of the doubt.

I have not heard back from the Senator as I am sure he might have been swamped with emails over this bill. I will update when he responds with what he says. In its current form, the bill needs to be scrapped and ORA needs to be kicked in the mouth for trying to help pass such legislation. I would love to hear their reasons behind the support of the bill. I am still not sure with the wording in its current form if it truly does away with all reciprocity since Oklahoma law doesn't automatically change what states accept our permits. With the nature of the agreements, it definitely could eliminate all states from accepting Oklahoma's CHL though, which is very bad and beyond intelligence.

I will also be talking to my Senator to make sure he knows that the wording in the bill as introduced is very ambiguous and he needs to stand against it regardless of if or how it is modified. It might not hurt for everyone else that is not in agreement with the wording to email their Senators as well. I will add to the email I sent to my Senator asking him to support 4 of Senator Russell's bills.

"They say the bill was meant to make it illegal for Oklahoma residents to have a concealed carry permit from another state."
That makes it a very bad bill in my opinion.
If our state legislators become addicted to money they collect from us because we choose to exercise our 2A rights (a right that should be free like the firs amendment right) and start treating this money they collect as "revenue" then there is NO way constitutional carry will ever pass in this state. they'll never give up their "revenue".
Also, there are a bunch of folk who carry permits from 2-3 states, so that if one expires they have another one to cover them till they renew the first permit. This bill, if made into law, will effectively preclude you from carrying if your OK permit takes too long to renew, which may well happen if there are bureaucratic delays.

I agree completely as well as numerous others about the revenue by fees. Unfortunately, Oklahoma already has high fees for the CHL and the dependency on revenue by fees has possibly already set in. In its current form, I say the bill is not fit to be used to wipe my butt.

There is a bill introduced that is supposed to lower the CHL fee to $35. That is the SB1550 OK2A is talking about sponsoring and I think that is a good bill to get behind if that is truly what it is doing.

 

[vdub]

Here is a copy of the letter I just emailed to my Senator. Feel free to use as you see fit. This is just the body as I use the form the NRA-ILA suggested. Here is the Google cached link.

Dear Senator (Insert Senator's Last Name):
As someone who lives and votes in your district, I wanted to contact you to strongly urge you to object to a bill introduced by Senator Ellis. SB1556 was introduced with wording that is very ambiguous to the intent of the bill. After receiving several inquiries about SB1556, Senator Ellis has clarified the "true intentions" of his bill. The "true intentions" of his bill were to make it illegal for residents of Oklahoma to carry a concealed handgun using a license issued by a state other than Oklahoma.
However, the current bill and even Senator Ellis's clarification is still unacceptable for gun rights and gun owners in Oklahoma. As the news has covered, there are several gun rights advocates and gun owners that are trying to figure out why such legislation is needed as proposed by this bill. While I am having a hard time finding any logic that would validate introducing such a bill, it seems hard to ignore that this bill is really nothing more than protecting the revenue stream generated from the high fees associated with obtaining a concealed handgun license in Oklahoma.
In closing, I urge to strongly object to this bill, its clarified "true intentions", and any revisions to the current bill to clarify its "true intentions" of making it illegal for residents of Oklahoma to carry a concealed handgun using a license issued by another state. I look forward to hearing back from you on this issue and that you will fight to protect mine and other's gun rights in Oklahoma as this will be an important factor on who I support and vote for in future elections.
Sincerely,
(Insert Your Name)

 

[Alan Frizzell]

Thanks, got it vdub, the conflict in there statements (update, referenced) begs for clarification. Thanks also for the form link (NRA-ILA). I'll contact my senator. Thanks again, Alan