The Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed several NRA-backed bills with strong support, sending this legislation to the state Senate for committee assignment and consideration. However, there are some important bills for the state House to consider before its crossover deadline this Thursday, so we need you to call your state Representative and encourage him or her to vote for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms constitutional amendment (HJR 1026), House Bill 2461 and House Bill 2887. Your immediate help is needed to ensure that these pro-gun bills are considered and passed in time. Please call and e-mail your state Representative TODAY and encourage him or her to support these measures. Contact information for your state Representative can be found here.
The following measures await action in the state House, and need your immediate support:
House Joint Resolution 1026, sponsored by state Representative Dan Fisher (R-60), would improve Oklahoma’s constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms provision by providing the strongest possible protection for your gun rights. Please contact your state Representative TODAY and urge him or her to support HJR 1026 as amended. All proposed restrictions to any of your fundamental rights should be subject to a standard that ensures the strongest possible protection for those rights, and your fundamental right to keep and bear arms is no exception.
House Bill 2461, sponsored by state Representative Mike Turner (R-82), would require that when certification from a chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) is a prerequisite by federal law for the transfer of a National Firearms Act (NFA) item -- as defined in the NFA -- such certification must be provided within fifteen days if the applicant is not prohibited by law from receiving the NFA item. Some CLEOs simply refuse to sign such forms, and nothing in current law prohibits this, even if the applicant’s receipt of the NFA item would not be contrary to law and the CLEO has no information that the applicant intends to use the NFA item for an unlawful purpose. HB 2461 would prevent an arbitrary personal bias from determining Oklahoma firearm policy and ensure that qualified, law-abiding Oklahomans would not be denied their ability to legally possess NFA items. The reforms in HB 2461 would benefit law-abiding Oklahoma Second Amendment supporters by ensuring that the process to obtain NFA items already legal in Oklahoma remains consistent, fact-based and objective.
House Bill 2887, authored by state Representative John Enns (R-41), would allow any college, university or technology center school to establish a general policy to allow carry license holders to carry on campus. HB 2887 would improve on current law which requires written permission to each individual licensee.
Again, your immediate help is needed to ensure that these pro-gun bills are considered by the state House and passed in time. Please call and e-mail your state Representative TODAY and encourage him or her to support these measures. Contact information for your state Representative can be found here.
The following bills have passed in the state House and are now awaiting consideration in the state Senate:
Yesterday, House Bill 2329, authored in the House by state Representative Sally Kern (R-84) and in the Senate by state Senator Larry Boggs (R-7), passed in the state House of Representatives by a 76-17 vote. HB 2329 would allow a person with a carry license to leave their firearm in a locked private vehicle while parked on primary and secondary public and private school parking lots. Under this legislation, law-abiding carry license holders would no longer have to disarm for their commute to work if they are employed by a school, and would provide additional protection to those in rural school districts where law enforcement personnel are often far away.
House Bill 2520, authored by state Representative Steve Vaughan (R-37) passed unanimously in the state House last week. This bill would make it optional to provide a full Social Security Number (SSN) while applying for a carry license under the Oklahoma Self Defense Act. HB 2520 would only require the applicant to provide the last four digits of their SSN, but would still allow the option of providing a full Social Security number on the form, if desired.
Also, the state House passed House Bill 2539, authored by state Representative Terry O’Donnell (R-23), by a 77-6 vote last month. This legislation makes a necessary common sense amendment to Oklahoma Statute title 21 § 733, which at this time permits the use of deadly force to defend only one’s self, his or her husband, wife, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant. HB 2539 provides a necessary update to this statute by expanding the category of people a person can lawfully use deadly force to defend, expanding defense to any other person.
Remember to contact your state lawmakers and encourage their support for these important measures! As always, watch your e-mail and www.nraila.org for updates.
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