Chicken Little types claim the sky is falling (or soon going to fall) when we allow card-carrying good guys to carry their guns.
They’ve said it about Florida when debating allowing concealed carry back in the 1980s. They said Florida would become the “Gunshine” state. Well, today, with over one million active permits, Florida has the lowest ever rate of firearm-related violent crime.
Oklahoma House approves guns in capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma House committee on Tuesday approved measures designed to expand gun rights, including legislation that would allow residents with concealed weapons permits to bring their firearms into the State Capitol.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 9-6 for the measure and sent it to the House floor for debate and a vote. But opponents questioned the wisdom of authorizing residents to bring weapons into a building that is frequently the site of impassioned debate over public policy issues. Firearms are currently banned from the Capitol except for those carried by law enforcement officers.
“Why are we doing this? Are you serious?” Rep. Richard Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City, asked as the measure was presented by its author, Rep. David Derby, R-Owasso.
Derby said the Capitol is a public building and Oklahomans who have completed the training required to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon should be allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights in the building.
“Tell me why we should stop them?” Derby said.
Next door, in Texas, when that state moved to allow guns in the capitol, the low-information legislators howled. Today, it’s proved to be perfectly safe and very popular, actually.
(TCGOP) – Planning to visit the Texas Capitol soon? Make sure you take your Texas Concealed Handgun Licence (CHL) with you. to bypass some of the new security screening procedures at the state capitol. Visitors to the state capitol are not only allowed to pack heat, but under the new security procedures there’s a new incentive to be armed — or at least to hold the license for it.
According to the Austin American Stateman, many lobbyists are acquiring the permits so they can have easier acess to the capitol.
DPS officials say letting license holders bypass security screening is justified because they undergo training and pass a background check — steps that they say will weed out criminals, people who are mentally unstable and terrorists.
Guns have been allowed in the capitol since the Conceal and Carry law was adopted in 1995. Many Texas legislators routinely carry concealed weapons in the capitol.
This is yet another example of what makes Texas such a great place to live.