In the last 24 hours, the State of Oklahoma passed House Bill 2597, also known as the “Constitutional Carry” Bill.
Introduced by Majority Leader Jon Echols, (R-Oklahoma City), the bill allows anyone who is not a felon, adjudicated as mentally defective, or who has had a conviction for a crime involving domestic violence, to carry a gun without a license in Oklahoma. Oklahomans would thereby be given the right to carry a handgun without going through the permit process, though federal laws still apply.
On Wednesday, February 27th, the “Constitutional Carry” Bill was passed in the Senate with a 40-6 vote and was then immediately signed in by Governor Kevin Stitt.
Governor Stitt stated, “I have said from the very beginning I would sign legislation that places Oklahoma in the ranks with [the] 12 other states allowing Constitutional Carry. HB 2597 received overwhelming support in the House, and I applaud leadership for advancing a measure that supports Oklahomans’ 2A rights.”
BREAKING DOWN THE “CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY” BILL…
Starting November 1st, 2019, otherwise qualified Oklahomans over the age of 21 will be permitted to carry without a permit. In addition, veterans, active duty and reserve military members (ages 18 and over) will be allowed to carry without a permit under the Bill.
The new law does not prevent institutions of higher education from setting their own policies regarding the carrying of guns on campuses and allows private property owners to prohibit firearms from being carried on their property.
JUST THE BEGINNING?
With the addition of Oklahoma, almost 1/3 of states have passed some form of permitless carry.
Could your state be next??
For more information about “Constitutional Carry,” call U.S. LawShield and ask to speak to your Independent Program Attorney.
Anyone know how this will affect state reciprocity?
Pure reciprocity, on the same basis as a conceal carry permit, may not be acceptable to those states which have a specific training requirement in their law before they recognize other states’ concealed carry permits. Oklahoma is unique from the perspective that it recognized every state’s policy for conceal or open carry. Many states have a provision which clearly requires that the issuing state have no less rigorous provisions and/or training than the “visited” state has for its own citizens, for the state to recognize reciprocity. We will continue to monitor the developments once the bill is passed to see how other states will react to Oklahoma’s new law.
Without a license you will not have the luxury of reciprocity and when HR38 becomes law you won’t have 50 state reciprocity. You should be way more concerned about the criteria which must be met in order to claim self defense. Just ask Mr Mize or Mr Gumm or Mr Erskand. I teach these classes. You gonna carry a deadly weapon please please know what oklahoma law says and sign up with us law shield.
OK HB2597 Permitless (Constitutional) Carry (Effective Date = Nov 1, 2019)
Bill’s Tracking Website:
www dot oklegislature dot gov/BillInfo dot aspx?Bill=hb2597
Bill’s Final Version:
www dot webserver1 dot lsb dot state dot ok dot us/cf_pdf/2019-20%20ENR/hB/HB2597%20ENR dot PDF
Feb 04, 2019 – First Reading
Feb 07, 2019 – Passed OK House Committee – 9-2
Feb 13, 2019 – Passed full OK House – 70-30
Feb 20, 2019 – Passed Senate Committee – 18-4
Feb 27, 2019 – Passed full OK Senate – 40-6
Feb 27, 2019 – Signed by Governor (Gov Stitt’s first signed bill as Governor)
Ken,
I’m not exactly sure what you mean, but an Oklahoma permit will still be available to obtain in order to comply with other State’s reciprocity requirements, if needed. But, Oklahoma recognizes the “Permitless Carry” rights of such states. (i.e. Kansas residents do not need any permit to carry in Oklahoma.) An excellent free source of reciprocity information is HandGunLaw dot US. Just click on the State you want to know about and it’ll download a free PDF file that has a LOT of information included. Fantastic source for traveling!
All,
I prefer the term “Permitless” Carry as opposed to “Constitutional” Carry because although we are not required to posess a permit (a.k.a. government permission slip), all the other restrictions still placed upon us are far from truly “Constitutional”.
Oklahoma Second Amendment Association (OK2A) was the big push behind this and many other bills yet to come to help restore Oklahomans’ rights. Thanks!
US Lawshield,
1. Thank you for the article. I have included a link above to the final version of the bill that was signed. I believe the link you posted was to the initial version.
2. Oklahoma is the 15th state with Permitless Carry. Point of trivia – Vermont residents have never had their right to bear arms infringed by having a permit requirement.
3. The government does not “give” rights, our creator does.
4. Thanks for all you do.
But, if you are a current Concealed Carry Permit holder, wouldn’t you still be afforded reciprocity?
We are still monitoring to see how states will react to reciprocity pending November 1st, when Oklahoma’s “Constitutional Carry” Bill goes into effect. Most neighboring states operate their state’s regulation of firearms differently and it cannot be assume that all states which currently recognize Oklahoma’s conceal carry permit by reciprocity will automatically recognize an Oklahoma driver’s license. Until then, we will continue to monitor situation and provide updates on the developments.
Ken,
I’m not exactly sure what you mean, but an Oklahoma permit will still be available to obtain / purchase in order to comply with other State’s reciprocity requirements, if needed. But, Oklahoma recognizes the “Permitless Carry” rights of such states. (i.e. Kansas residents do not need any permit to carry in Oklahoma.) An excellent free source of reciprocity information is Hand Gun Law. Just click on the State you want to know about and it’ll download a free PDF file that has a LOT of information included. Fantastic source for traveling!
what does this mean as it relates to the medical marijuana law and carrying?
Everything remains as it was in regard to medical marijuana cards prior to the passage of Constitutional Carry, however, it will be more of a process for OSBI to interfere with a medical marijuana card holder’s right to carry without a permit. If the OSBI finds out that a CCL has a medical marijuana card, that person will have their CCL canceled by OSBI.
Having US law shield is like having a gun
Better to have it And never need it
Proud member of us law shield
I really don’t need you to tell me what I need to be concerned about. I have had a carry permit since Oklahoma first started issuing them and I have extensive training. I was asking about reciprocity. Thank you.
All,
Basically, the main thing this law does is remove the requirement for law-abiding Oklahoma citizens to obtain the State’s permission and pay its tax to carry a firearm within Oklahoma’s borders. Also, please remember, it does not go into effect until November 1, 2019!
This law does not change Oklahoma’s recognition of other States’ licenses / permitless carry laws for their citizens to carry in Oklahoma. So, citizens of States that have permitless carry laws do not need a physical license to carry in Oklahoma.
It does not change any current Oklahoma Handgun Licenses nor remove the program. So, you’ll still be able to obtain an Oklahoma Handgun License, even after this law’s effective date, in order to carry in a State that may require a physical license from Oklahoma.
If you want to know if a particular State will recognize Oklahoma’s new “permitless” law, without a physical license from Oklahoma, you will have to check with each of those states, individually.
Here is the web address for the final version of the bill. I highly recommend you read it yourself so you can have first-hand knowledge of it. It is 25 pages and only the parts that are underlined were changed.
webserver1 dot lsb dot state dot ok dot us/cf_pdf/2019-20%20ENR/hB/HB2597%20ENR dot PDF
(Copy the above line and paste it in your internet browser. Then, replace each word “dot” with an actual “.” and remove all spaces that remain. Then, press the “Enter” or “Go” button. The PDF file will download automatically.)
Ken,
I apologize for the double entry. This is my first time posting to a comment board {or whatever the young whipper snappers call it these days :) }. I clicked the “Submit” button, waited a while, didn’t see my post on the site, and submitted a shortened version of it to see if that would work. Apparently, they both posted later. Also, good on you for the training – keep it up! I hope everyone does the same.
Don,
I hope answered your question sufficiently.
Terry,
Download the final version of the bill (directions above). See page 4, Section 1272 UNLAWFUL CARRY, paragraph A.6.f. Also, I saw on the news {so, take that for what it’s worth :( } that the Oklahoma House and / or Senate is currently working a bill to regulate medical marijuana and I THINK they said that it includes a provision to “allow” citizens to carry firearms even if they are prescribed medical marijuana. There are a lot of federal vs State nuances with this issue – I HAVE NOT VERIFIED THIS – PLEASE CONFIRM FOR YOURSELF!
Scott,
Thank you very much. You answered my question. I wasn’t sure if permits were still going to be issued. I appreciate your response!