Oklahoma may allow college students to carry guns

[CountGlockula]

Great news! Uh, military training?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/14/campus.guns.ap/index.html

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (AP) -- People with specialized firearms training, such as military personnel, would be allowed to carry concealed weapons on Oklahoma's college campuses, under a bill that passed the state's House Thursday.

The measure was approved 65-36, despite opponents who said it made no sense following shootings at schools across the country.

It now heads to the state Senate for a vote.

Introduced by Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, the law would authorize active-duty military and National Guard and reserve personnel, honorably discharged veterans and others with firearms training certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education who hold a state concealed weapons license to carry guns on college and university campuses.

The legislation is more narrow than Murphey's original proposal, which would have allowed anyone at least 21 years old with concealed handgun carrying rights to carry weapons on campus. That version was similar to a Utah law.

"This has to be the craziest thing I have ever seen," said Rep. Ray McCarter, D-Marlow, one of several lawmakers who said the measure is opposed by college administrators.

Rep. Colby Schwartz, R-Yukon, said someone with a concealed weapon might be the only person in a classroom who can protect himself and others from an attacking gunman.

"When seconds matter the police are just minutes away," said Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs.

House members also approved a measure that lowers the age to 18 from 21 of active-duty military, National Guard and reserve personnel as well as veterans who can be licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

Murphey said his bill was a "commonsense step" to expand Oklahoma's concealed weapons law to combat campus violence.

"The concealed carry law is about 12 years old. It's worked out very well," Murphey said. He said more than 60,000 Oklahomans are licensed to carry concealed weapons, and there has been no widespread gun violence in the state, which opponents had warned of.

Murphey's bill would require people authorized to carry a concealed handgun to provide written notice to the university or college president before bringing a gun on campus. It would not limit a university's ability to restrict concealed weapons from access-controlled areas where people are subject to security checks. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

[doc2rn]

Good for them now if only Kansas had that rule.

 

[Starship1st]

My son goes to college in Oklahoma; I for one am glad to hear this. I just hope that Arizona follows?

 

[littlegator]

It would not limit a university's ability to restrict concealed weapons from access-controlled areas where people are subject to security checks.

How much you want to bet the University expands it's access-controlled areas to the entire campus? Remember, I'm from Vegas and know how to play the odds...

 

[CountGlockula]

Would this be a first?

 

[romeo212000]

They watered down this bill. What they have basically done in effect is not affect the everyday citizen and student, nor have they really given them any ability to defend themselves.

 

[lacoochee]

Sucks that it was watered down, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Next year go for all concealed weapons holders as well. BTW is it possible to obtain the following without actually being a LEO?

"others with firearms training certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education who hold a state concealed weapons license"

Sounds like a good course to take anyways...

And there is the provision that honourably discharged vets would also qualify, that's a lot of folks.

Actually taken as a whole I think it's almost a good bill especially if anyone with a CCW can take the firearms certification, it's 1000% better than what we have in Florida.

 

[CountGlockula]

Another reason for OK folks to be CCW trained. I'm all for that.

 

[v35]

I heard about it on the radio this morning. When the item led with "...in the wake of mass shootings at the VA Tech and Northern Illinois colleges, lawmakers in Oklahoma..." I braced for the announcement of yet another ill-conceived anti self-defense law. I practically drove off the road when I heard the rest of the story.

It's far from perfect, but a definite step in the right direction. Soon we'll be able to say "why does Oklahoma care about its college students more than ________?"

 

[GhostlyKarliion]

CLEET (Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training) is something like a clearing house for everything from police officers to security guards to private investigators. CLEET certified classes in firearms (and everything else they cover) are available to everyone.

strangley, in order to get a CCWL here you have to take a training course authorised by CLEET, but I doubt that will count to satisfy the bills wording (though the final version hasn't yet passed the senate and house, so we don't know what it will exactly come out as) but again CLEET firearms courses are cheap and usually quick.

one place here does one or two day long crash courses.

 

[another okie]

The bill as passed by the house does not refer to CLEET-certified training, which I have plenty of, but to CLEET certification as a police officer or armed security guard, which I do not have. This is the journalist's mistake, probably due to not understanding how the process works.

If I'm reading it correctly, it leaves colleges with the power to adopt a student code of behavior that bans firearms, meaning the college can expel anyone found with a gun, but they can't be arrested.

The bill is not law - we have a bicameral legislature here. The House is controlled by Republicans, the Senate by Democrats. The Governor is a generally gun friendly Democrat, but David Boren is the most powerful man in the state, and he's against it, so it's unlikely to pass.

If the bill did pass as it stands it would be a first step, though it's full of paperwork and hoops to jump through.

It will probably be watered down even more or competely rejected by the Senate.

 

[BruceRDucer]

Sensible Oklahoma!

In the past several years, the state of Oklahoma has enacted several important pieces of legislation on several issues of importance to the entire country.

At a time when this nation needs real leaders, rather than the fluffy airhead politicians that we usually get for candidates for public office, I turn to Oklahoma for hope.

Periods of great crisis produce great leaders. Oklahoma must have good water or something.

Way to go OKLAHOMA