HB1647 Unfortunately Passes Oklahoma House

In a very late session, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed HB1647. It was passed with title intact and with an amendment by Rep. Emily Virgin (D).

In addition to the language requiring a defendant to articulate a reasonable fear of bodily harm upon arrest for unlawful carry by carrying a firearm openly, the Virgin amendment also requires a protective order to be in place.

Rep. Mike Reynolds (R) spoke on the floor multiple times about this bill being what gun owners want for open carry in Oklahoma. He's wrong. Gun owners who support open carry want open carry decriminalized, some with a license and some without. This bill only provides a defense to a criminal charge.

That defense is the ability to articulate a "reasonable fear of bodily harm" to the arresting officer or the prosecuting District Attorney. What constitutes "reasonable" to one person may not be "reasonable" to another.

Hopefully this bill dies or is amended in the Senate. This is not a bill we want for open carry in Oklahoma. Anyone who says otherwise obviously does not support open carry.

UPDATE: The votes were finally posted, which is odd because they are usually available immediately. Here they are:

    HOUSE BILL 1647     Crimes and punishments; authorizing issuance of        
    Bennett             lifetime concealed handgun licenses for military       
   
    THIRD READING       PASSED                                                  
   
         YEAS:   55                                                    RCS#  319
         NAYS:   39                                                    3/16/2011
         EXC :    7                                                     11:38 PM
         C/P :    0                                                            
    YEAS:   55
    Armes              Hamilton           Murphey            Schwartz          
    Bennett            Holland            Nelson             Scott              
    Brumbaugh          Inman              Newell             Shannon           
    Cannaday           Johnson            Ortega             Shoemake          
    Casey              Jordan             Proctor            Stiles            
    Christian          Kern               Pruett             Terrill           
    Cockroft           Key                Quinn              Thomsen           
    Condit             Kirby              Reynolds           Trebilcock        
    Derby              Lockhart           Ritze              Vaughan           
    Dorman             Martin, Sc.        Roberts, D.        Walker            
    Farley             McDaniel, R.       Roberts, S.        Wesselhoft        
    Faught             Moore              Rousselot          Williams          
    Glenn              Morrissette        Russ               Wright            
    Hall               Mulready           Sanders           
    NAYS:   39
    Banz               Grau               McCullough         Roan              
    Billy              Hardin             McDaniel, J.       Sears             
    Blackwell          Hickman            McNiel             Shelton           
    Coody              Hilliard           McPeak             Sherrer           
    Cooksey            Hoskin             Nollan             Sullivan          
    Dank               Jackson            Ownbey             Tibbs             
    Denney             Joyner             Peters             Virgin            
    DeWitt             Liebmann           Peterson           Watson            
    Enns               Martin, St.        Pittman            Mr.Speaker        
    Fourkiller         McAffrey           Renegar           
    EXCUSED:    7
    Brown              Kouplen            Osborn             Shumate           
    Cox                Morgan             Richardson        
    CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVILEGE:    0

Those who voted YEA should all have their vote regarded as a vote against allowing a citizen to carry a firearm openly under a presumption of innocence. Their position on the Second Amendment should be questioned.