Considering moving to Oklahoma...
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vett3v
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To hear my wife talk, it is a Republican enclave, so should be good to go. heh.. (She's originally from OKC, and a Democrat)
Seriously, her friends there have CCW's and have heard no issues with the 2nd Amendment. Here's a link http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Concealed_Weapons_Licensing/
Seriously, her friends there have CCW's and have heard no issues with the 2nd Amendment. Here's a link http://www.ok.gov/osbi/Concealed_Weapons_Licensing/
Sarah Brady's Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence rates Oklahoma tied with Louisiana and Kentucky as worst in the nation............that means, according to her rating system, Oklahoma has the least gun restrictions in the nation........that's a good thing!
CCW is shall issue, requires an 8 hour training course and our permit is honored by 34 other states.
http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/oklahoma.pdf
Class 3 firearms/silencers are legal
CCW is shall issue, requires an 8 hour training course and our permit is honored by 34 other states.
http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/oklahoma.pdf
Class 3 firearms/silencers are legal
Flyboy
Member
CCW permit process:
No NFA prohibitions aside from hunting regulations (can't use a suppressor to hunt, unfortunately). Most sheriffs will sign, I'm told. No waiting periods, one-gun-a-month laws, or goofy type or magazine size laws.
We don't actually issue guns at the border, but we don't make it hard to get your own.
- 8 hour training course (includes gun safety, legal use of force, and live-fire); $60 maximum
- $100 to the state, $25 to the county
- Background check
- That's about it.
No NFA prohibitions aside from hunting regulations (can't use a suppressor to hunt, unfortunately). Most sheriffs will sign, I'm told. No waiting periods, one-gun-a-month laws, or goofy type or magazine size laws.
We don't actually issue guns at the border, but we don't make it hard to get your own.
Frog48
Member
The downside of living in Oklahoma is that you live in Oklahoma. 
NavyLCDR
member
And that you cannot open carry, and that you must pay for training to get a CCW license, and that the license itself is $125! That is not the definition of RKBA friendly to me.
Actually, the license is $100 for 5 years........the Sheriff's office charges $25 to do the fingerprints and local background check.....it's not perfect, but it's much better than many other state requirements.
As for open carry......personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to carry openly if they can legally conceal????
By the way......WA ranks 14 on the Brady list........I'll take a tie for 48th (last place) over 14th any day!!!!
As for open carry......personally, I don't understand why anyone would want to carry openly if they can legally conceal????
By the way......WA ranks 14 on the Brady list........I'll take a tie for 48th (last place) over 14th any day!!!!
Hungry Seagull
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And Oklahoma is a Indian State. With Bingo to match for money. Then there are the Chicken plants in the east, bomb making plants near the center and hardly anything beyond Oklahoma city except... Texas and Kansas and beyond.
Oh yes and storms. If I wanted to know what my weather will be like in the morning I simply look over the Tulsa map tonight before bed. Only not half as bad.
If you move there, make sure you have a house with a tornado proof shelter. It will be required if you want to survive. You also will have ice storms in winter.
Or both summer and winter in the same town at once, on opposite ends as happened a few times. East side ... 90 degrees and sopping wet humidty and the west side 20 degrees and glass ice no one can drive or walk on.
Oklahoma is also the home of the largest McDonalds. It's also the home of many different things.
But.... yer in Oklahoma. I recommend you visit first before moving.
Personally Ive had good luck in Oklahoma, but... because of the majority of Cherokees who were forcibly displaced from the Carolinas some dozens of decades ago... I never really felt welcome there.
Oh yes and storms. If I wanted to know what my weather will be like in the morning I simply look over the Tulsa map tonight before bed. Only not half as bad.
If you move there, make sure you have a house with a tornado proof shelter. It will be required if you want to survive. You also will have ice storms in winter.
Or both summer and winter in the same town at once, on opposite ends as happened a few times. East side ... 90 degrees and sopping wet humidty and the west side 20 degrees and glass ice no one can drive or walk on.
Oklahoma is also the home of the largest McDonalds. It's also the home of many different things.
But.... yer in Oklahoma. I recommend you visit first before moving.
Personally Ive had good luck in Oklahoma, but... because of the majority of Cherokees who were forcibly displaced from the Carolinas some dozens of decades ago... I never really felt welcome there.
Hungry Seagull
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I concede that I was too heavy on the tornado bit.
What else? :banghead:
Good luck with Oklahoma, compared to other states that are not as gun friendly you will find it to be good.
What else? :banghead:
Good luck with Oklahoma, compared to other states that are not as gun friendly you will find it to be good.
ConstitutionCowboy
member
Most tornadoes you see you can figuratively simply step aside and let pass. There are some, though, up to a mile wide, that don't even leave the grass behind when they pass.
There is only one requirement: Leave any liberalism behind you before you enter.
Woody
There is only one requirement: Leave any liberalism behind you before you enter.
Woody
alsaqr
Member
OK is a pretty good place to live. Great hog hunting. In parts of the state you see guns in pickup gun racks. Prosecutors are elected in OK and most are very gun friendly. In OK the prosecutor does not have to take a righteous self-defense shooting to the grand jury.
Yeah, it does get windy sometimes. Once in awhile the wind rotates.
This rotating wind touched down in our back yard on Memorial Day, 1999.
Yeah, it does get windy sometimes. Once in awhile the wind rotates.
This rotating wind touched down in our back yard on Memorial Day, 1999.Attachments
tulsamal
Member
Oklahoma actually has a Democratic majority and has since the 1930's at least. The GOP just took over the state Senate for the first time since statehood (1907). The House was the same until just recently. However it is important to remember that an Okie Democrat isn't the same thing as Democrats elected in many other states. They are a lot more conservative. Actually I prefer a different word. Back when I was teaching at OU, we used to give out ideology tests. They asked like 100 questions and then showed you where you fell on the ideology spectrum. The results were interesting. Oklahomans are VERY libertarian. That's libertarian with a small "l."
Just to give full disclosure, I lived in OK from birth to 11. Then in Ohio until 16. Then West Germany until 19. Then Ohio until 21. Then Oklahoma until 23. Then Hawaii (25th ID(L)) until 27. Then back to Norman, OK to finish my degree at OU. Been living in OK uninterrupted since 1988. Norman, then Tulsa, then Bixby, then Collinsville, and now ten years in Vinita. Never seen a tornado even at a distance in my whole life. No house I've ever lived in has had a shelter either.
People get weird ideas about OK. I've had more than one person over the years ask me if the Indians still go on the warpath and kill people. Or whether we sometimes find arrows in our cars when we are out driving. We do have a large native American population but not on reservations. A lot of tribes were relocated to eastern Oklahoma before statehood but I'm not sure how the state should be blamed for the actions of the Federal government at that time? 75 years before statehood? Today many of the tribes are doing VERY well since they have casinos everywhere. The number of visitors to the casinos and the total dollars taken in is amazing. And we have horse racing if you like to bet on the ponies.
A large percentage of Okies are religious. Baptist of various types mostly. But we don't go to church and everybody still likes us and doesn't hold it against us that we are heathens.
It does get hot in the summer but certainly no hotter than Texas. Since we are further north, I would actually expect our average temps to be slightly lower. Okies and Texans don't worry about such things since we just stay in the A/C in the summer! Winters can be quite mild. It does freeze and snow but it never sticks around for long.
Here's something an outsider probably wouldn't know. The state is basically four different regions. The NE is the most liberal and that's where Tulsa is. We also have lots of trees and hills. Nothing I would really call a mountain but the Ozarks do start here. The SE is usually referred to as Little Dixie. That is the part of the state that is most like the traditional Deep South. Not a whole lot of jobs but could be an interesting place to retire. Beaver's Bend State Park is down there and that's one of the nicest places in the state. Lots and lots of trees and small mountains and vast amounts of wildlife. The greenest part of the state. The SW is where Lawton is at. It's a lot like New Mexico or the Texas panhandle. Totally different than the SE part of the state. Approaches a desert in some places. I've trained in Lawton and I never really liked that type of terrain. And finally the NW which is quite sparsely populated. It includes some odd looking mesas and the panhandle. The panhandle is dead flat and has some really tough weather conditions. It's like western Kansas. Most Oklahomans are glad they don't live there. And Oklahoma City sits at the junction of all these regions. Which is probably why it is harder to characterize that city than it is with Tulsa.
As far as guns, most Okies own one or more guns. Lots of people have extensive collections. Being a "gun collector" doesn't get you ostracized. The CCW laws are decent. At least we don't have to go back for "more training" when it is time to renew like some states I know! And there aren't many restricted areas where you can't take your guns. If you just think "government buildings," that covers most of them. I very much wish we had better open carry laws but that just gives us something to work toward, I guess.
I'm going to have to go dig up a link in my email folders. Missouri is a neighbor and they recently paid for a study comparing cost of living indexes. Of course they were hoping to show Missouri was one of the best and they did. Missouri is ranked #6 in the nation. (Texas is 8th.) Oklahoma was #1. Our housing market is still strong. Good place to come buy a house! Excellent health care, especially in Tulsa.
http://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/index.stm
Consider population densities as well. Oklahoma has 3 million people. Been about the same for a couple of decades now. Texas has 24.6 million and growing. If we compare population densities, OK has 50.3 people per square mile. Texas has 79.6. Where do you think it will be easier to find a place to shoot? Or hunt? Granted even the Texas numbers are low compared to New Jersey at 1,138 but still!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population_density
Oh, one other thing I've noticed about some Western states. Oklahoma still hasn't attracted many "transplanted Californians." Some, but not enough to affect our politics. Californians moved to Oregon and Washington and screwed them up. Then they moved on to Montana. Then Arizona. I can't believe what the CA type people are doing to Colorado. And yes, they are in Texas and growing in numbers. So far we've been able to stop them with roadblocks and sniffing dogs and hopefully we will be able to keep that up!!
Gregg
Just to give full disclosure, I lived in OK from birth to 11. Then in Ohio until 16. Then West Germany until 19. Then Ohio until 21. Then Oklahoma until 23. Then Hawaii (25th ID(L)) until 27. Then back to Norman, OK to finish my degree at OU. Been living in OK uninterrupted since 1988. Norman, then Tulsa, then Bixby, then Collinsville, and now ten years in Vinita. Never seen a tornado even at a distance in my whole life. No house I've ever lived in has had a shelter either.
People get weird ideas about OK. I've had more than one person over the years ask me if the Indians still go on the warpath and kill people. Or whether we sometimes find arrows in our cars when we are out driving. We do have a large native American population but not on reservations. A lot of tribes were relocated to eastern Oklahoma before statehood but I'm not sure how the state should be blamed for the actions of the Federal government at that time? 75 years before statehood? Today many of the tribes are doing VERY well since they have casinos everywhere. The number of visitors to the casinos and the total dollars taken in is amazing. And we have horse racing if you like to bet on the ponies.
A large percentage of Okies are religious. Baptist of various types mostly. But we don't go to church and everybody still likes us and doesn't hold it against us that we are heathens.
It does get hot in the summer but certainly no hotter than Texas. Since we are further north, I would actually expect our average temps to be slightly lower. Okies and Texans don't worry about such things since we just stay in the A/C in the summer! Winters can be quite mild. It does freeze and snow but it never sticks around for long.
Here's something an outsider probably wouldn't know. The state is basically four different regions. The NE is the most liberal and that's where Tulsa is. We also have lots of trees and hills. Nothing I would really call a mountain but the Ozarks do start here. The SE is usually referred to as Little Dixie. That is the part of the state that is most like the traditional Deep South. Not a whole lot of jobs but could be an interesting place to retire. Beaver's Bend State Park is down there and that's one of the nicest places in the state. Lots and lots of trees and small mountains and vast amounts of wildlife. The greenest part of the state. The SW is where Lawton is at. It's a lot like New Mexico or the Texas panhandle. Totally different than the SE part of the state. Approaches a desert in some places. I've trained in Lawton and I never really liked that type of terrain. And finally the NW which is quite sparsely populated. It includes some odd looking mesas and the panhandle. The panhandle is dead flat and has some really tough weather conditions. It's like western Kansas. Most Oklahomans are glad they don't live there. And Oklahoma City sits at the junction of all these regions. Which is probably why it is harder to characterize that city than it is with Tulsa.
As far as guns, most Okies own one or more guns. Lots of people have extensive collections. Being a "gun collector" doesn't get you ostracized. The CCW laws are decent. At least we don't have to go back for "more training" when it is time to renew like some states I know! And there aren't many restricted areas where you can't take your guns. If you just think "government buildings," that covers most of them. I very much wish we had better open carry laws but that just gives us something to work toward, I guess.
I'm going to have to go dig up a link in my email folders. Missouri is a neighbor and they recently paid for a study comparing cost of living indexes. Of course they were hoping to show Missouri was one of the best and they did. Missouri is ranked #6 in the nation. (Texas is 8th.) Oklahoma was #1. Our housing market is still strong. Good place to come buy a house! Excellent health care, especially in Tulsa.
http://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/index.stm
Consider population densities as well. Oklahoma has 3 million people. Been about the same for a couple of decades now. Texas has 24.6 million and growing. If we compare population densities, OK has 50.3 people per square mile. Texas has 79.6. Where do you think it will be easier to find a place to shoot? Or hunt? Granted even the Texas numbers are low compared to New Jersey at 1,138 but still!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population_density
Oh, one other thing I've noticed about some Western states. Oklahoma still hasn't attracted many "transplanted Californians." Some, but not enough to affect our politics. Californians moved to Oregon and Washington and screwed them up. Then they moved on to Montana. Then Arizona. I can't believe what the CA type people are doing to Colorado. And yes, they are in Texas and growing in numbers. So far we've been able to stop them with roadblocks and sniffing dogs and hopefully we will be able to keep that up!!
Gregg
tulsamal
Member
Oh, one more political "factoid" that many of you will appreciate. In the 2008 elections, not only did McCain win the state, but Obama didn't even win a single county. That's 77 counties. Including the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas. McCain won all 77 counties. Literally the only state in the nation where that is true.
When Okies tell you that Obama "isn't our fault," we really mean it!!
Gregg
When Okies tell you that Obama "isn't our fault," we really mean it!!
Gregg
Hungry Seagull
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Oh NOES! We are being invaded by the californites!!!!
NavyLCDR
member
GonHuntin,
I have been a resident and a gun owner in both Oklahoma and Washington. The reason the Brady Bunch likes WA more than Oklahoma is because there is a three day wait in WA for a handgun purchase, because a license is required to carry a loaded handgun in a vehicle and because no loaded rifles are allowed in vehicles. The $55.00 CPL in Washington, obtained with no cost for training does away with both the 3 day wait and the unloaded handgun in a vehicle requirement. Still no loaded long guns in a vehicle though.
So, personally, I'll take the cheaper, easier CPL in Washington and carry my gun openly in a belt holster right alongside my best buddy who can carry his gun openly as well with no license at all.
I have been a resident and a gun owner in both Oklahoma and Washington. The reason the Brady Bunch likes WA more than Oklahoma is because there is a three day wait in WA for a handgun purchase, because a license is required to carry a loaded handgun in a vehicle and because no loaded rifles are allowed in vehicles. The $55.00 CPL in Washington, obtained with no cost for training does away with both the 3 day wait and the unloaded handgun in a vehicle requirement. Still no loaded long guns in a vehicle though.
So, personally, I'll take the cheaper, easier CPL in Washington and carry my gun openly in a belt holster right alongside my best buddy who can carry his gun openly as well with no license at all.
tulsamal
Member
I'll give you a personal example. I have a CCW. I live in a very rural county. Craig County is in the very NE part of OK and only has 15,000 people in the whole place. About half of those are in Vinita. We live on 90 acres. Last property at the end of a dirt road. There is a paved road .7 miles away but our dirt road keeps going on the other side of it. So if you want to go for a walk or something, you can do it on just the rural gravel/dirt road.
One day I was listening to an audio book in my car. I got home but the book was at a very exciting part and I wanted to see what was going to happen. So I thought I would go for a walk and listen to the rest of it on my iPod. It was mid summer and I wanted to just wear shorts and a t-shirt. I thought I might see a skunk or coyote or some other vermin (not to mention the two legged kind) so a gun seemed liked a useful accessory. Since I might actually be using it for vermin eradication, I didn't want to carry my usual snub .44 Special. But a bigger gun means harder to conceal and I wanted to dress lightly. I figured it was no problem to just wear a Glock 17 openly since I was six miles away from the nearest city.
So I went for a walk that way. Not for the first time. And I ended up on my belly eating gravel while a deputy sheriff warned me over and over again that he was going to shoot me if I made any sudden moves. He was not amused by my idea that I could open carry in a rural area. He said one of my neighbors called to complain about "a man with a gun walking down the street" so he had to respond. We discussed the laws and he told me to go concealed next time. I thanked him for not shooting me and that was that.
So yeah, I wish that Oklahoma allowed open carry!!!!!
I posted about the whole gory incident when it happened if you want to hear more: http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80795
Gregg
tulsamal
Member
Well, I'm glad you are happy but it doesn't seem so good to me! If somebody told you that you had to make a one time payment of $75 or so and you could enjoy those other things, wouldn't that be worth it? Just the three day wait for a handgun would make me wild and be well worth a little extra money one time. I typically buy 3-4 handguns a year and have for a long time.
And most real livestock ranchers carry some kind of loaded rifle in their trucks. Might just be a .22 or might be a Mini 14. I wouldn't _want_ to give that one up either but the three day wait is worse!
I've never lived in WA but my expectation is that it suffers from the same fate of some other states that have one super large metro area. A lot of really nice rural areas and real potential. But the politics are totally skewed for that large metro area. That's the way Missouri is with St. Louis and Kansas City. And Illinois with Chicago. In Oklahoma we have two large metro areas but they don't have the political clout to totally dominate the rural areas of the state. And since the politics of the two cities is somewhat dissimilar, they can't usually unite in their efforts anyway!
Gregg
Pull the t-shirt over the holster and you are good to go...........from your brief description here, the deputy overreacted.....but you were violating the law.......I would have read more about it, but I'm not a member over there and they require a login to view the link you posted.......
I'd have been in the Sheriff's office the next day having a personal chat with the Sheriff regarding his deputy's conduct.......
I'd have been in the Sheriff's office the next day having a personal chat with the Sheriff regarding his deputy's conduct.......
Turbobuddha
Member
I grew up in the Muskogee area. We used to use our guns to shoot mistle toe out of the trees because we were too lazy to climb them.
Still have some family and friends in the state. It's not a bad place to be. But, I've yet to really find a state that I didn't like. A few cities I didn't care for. A few "rules" I didn't agree with. But they all have their charm.
Still have some family and friends in the state. It's not a bad place to be. But, I've yet to really find a state that I didn't like. A few cities I didn't care for. A few "rules" I didn't agree with. But they all have their charm.
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