Another Oklahoma 2A Group Comes Out Against Open Carry

In addition to OK2A's support of HB1647 as a so-called open carry bill (without the Virgin amendment), the Oklahoma Rifle Association has come out against SB129. Here's part of the letter sent by the ORA to your representatives:

The Officers and Board Members of the ORA are in agreement with the 'Open Carry' concept but, after much discussion, the majority of the Board Members and Officers voted to oppose Senate Bill 129.... This bill, in its present form, would allow those 18 years of age and older, to purchase and carry loaded rifles, shotguns and handguns openly in a scabbard, with a sling, or a handgun in a holster, anywhere not in violation of Title 21, subsection A of Section 1277, without a background check and without training.

The Officers and Board Members are in opposition to SB 129 for these reasons:

First, the purchase of handguns by persons under the age of 21 is in violation of existing federal law.

Second, allowing citizens, trained or untrained, to carry rifles and shotguns either in a scabbard or with a sling on city streets and into business establishments will create an atmosphere of hostility and distrust, not to mention create fear in those in our society who have an aversion to any type of firearm.

Third, the apprehension, created for the law enforcement officers by the open carrying of long guns could create situations resulting in unnecessary use of deadly force.

For these reasons we ask you to vote against SB 129 when it comes to the floor of the House of Representatives.

So with both major "Second Amendment" groups in Oklahoma against open carry, does open carry really have a chance in Oklahoma? It appears that the ORA is looking to add to the fearmongering of those against gun rights. REVISION: I interpreted OK2A's support of a petition for HB1647 as being a stance against open carry. However, it has been recently brought to my attention that the petition ended up being for HB1647 because the author of HB1400 did not want his bill being used for a discharge petition.

Let's take a look at the three reasons that the ORA gives for not supporting SB129.

The ORA first asserts that a reason to not support SB129 is that the purchase of handguns by people under 21 years of age is a federal offense. That is simply not true and shows a misunderstanding of firearm laws with respect to handguns (or perhaps a deliberate attempt to mislead your elected officials). Yes, federal law prohibits a Federal Firearms Licensee (read: gun dealer) from selling a handgun to a person under age 21. But federal law also allows for the purchase of handguns by those 18 or older through a private party. Most states, including Oklahoma, have not raised the age to 21.

Next, the ORA makes the "public fear" and "hostility and distrust" claims that are touted by many as a valid argument against open carry of firearms. Yet, they don't bother to cite any sources of such issues with open carry in the 43 other states that already allow open carry. Twelve of those states allow open carry without a license generally anywhere, 15 states allow unlicensed open carry with municipal exceptions, 13 states require a license for open carry, and one state (California) allows open carry in non-incorporated areas. So you see, if there really was an "atmosphere of hostility and distrust, not to mention...fear" in those states that allow open carry, wouldn't we already know about it?

Finally, the ORA pulls out the straw-man argument that is always given that law enforcement will not know who is a good guy carrying a firearm openly. That shows complete ignorance on the ORA's part of a 2006 FBI study showing that "bad guys" rarely, if ever, use a holster to carry a firearm.

This letter from the ORA is another reason why I don't trust so-called Second Amendment associations to fight for my Second Amendment rights, both at the state and national level.