The new law, as of Nov. 1st, will no longer require a person with a firearm to inform a police officer they are carrying a firearm unless they are asked. Gun owners will be able to choose between the Constitutional Carry/Permitless Carry or the current Conceal/Open Carry law.
Under the new rules passed this year, Oklahomans 21 years old and older will be able to carry firearms without a permit beginning Nov. 1. For those serving in the military, the age for permitless carry is 18 years and above, granting deference to the training service members receive and allowing them to protect themselves at home.
Does passing basic training at 18 make them handgun qualified or proficient? Not in the slightest, with a possible exception for MPs but even then most DoD personnel I know can’t shoot nearly as well as they think they can. This rule is about their proficiency. The law is about the right of self preservation. Denial of the right to carry a firearm in Oklahoma will be tied to the same prohibitions as owning one.
Federal background checks via 4473 forms will still apply to purchasing a firearm. Individuals with felonies, domestic violence convictions, and adjudicated mental illness are prohibited from carrying a firearm. The laws for possession and carry are now closely tied on their disqualifiers.
The new law was vetoed in 2018 by then-Gov. Mary Fallin, but was signed into law this year by Gov. Kevin Stitt. Oklahoma has been trying to pass this one for awhile.
At a conference addressing the changes in Edmund the police gave information to the public on the changes.
“For most of us there’s not any big change,” said Lt. Jeff Richardson, a 22-year veteran of the Edmond Police Department. “For Edmond Police officers — do not present your weapon to an officer, just inform them where it is located,” he said. This is on request by the officers as duty to inform has changed to on request.
The firearms allowed to be carried won’t change much Nov. 1, but there are a few additions. Rifles with a barrel length of over 16 inches and shotguns with a barrel(s) over 18 inches may be carried, non-NFA, traditional, Title I firearms. Constitutional Carry/Permitless Carry only allows open carry firearms to be carried in a holster, scabbard, case or sling. Firearms cannot be taken to a university event or a sporting event, existing law prohibits this. Firearms cannot leave the interior of a vehicle when in a school parking lot, K-12.
