Confusion Over Oklahoma Senate Bill, Can Teens Purchase Handguns?

When it comes to navigating the firearm laws of the US and the differing laws of each state, things tend to get murkier rather than clearer. This happened again recently on a social media site when someone asked about who can own firearms in Oklahoma.

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At the core of the question, and subsequent discussion, was Oklahoma Senate Bill 1218. Introduced as:

An Act relating to the purchase of firearms;
prohibiting denial of firearms purchase under certain
circumstances; requiring submission of certain
documentation to the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.

Basically, the gist of the bill would allow any Oklahoma adult at or above the age of 18 to purchase a firearm from federally licenses firearm dealers - AKA - any gun shop... and that's where the confusion starts.

It's always been legal for any person 18 or older to purchase rifles and shotguns - long guns - from gun dealers, but to purchase a handgun from a dealer, you've needed to be at least 21 years old.

That's not to say an 18-year-old can't legally own a handgun, they can... they just can't buy them from a licensed retailer. All the same, an 18-year-old can lawfully purchase a handgun from another individual who is not federally licensed. This was likely originally a way to protect the passing down of family heirlooms and such, or having the ability to gift a firearm from one to another, but I digress. The law is the law and it's all perfectly legal.

While many believe the lawful age of voting and the point where a person is classified as an adult under that law should also be reflected in all constitutionally protected freedoms like owning a firearm or having a beer, this isn't the case. Even if Oklahoma did pass something along these lines, it's not clear how it would turn out. Firearm dealers are licensed federally, so I'm sure the very first instance of an 18-year-old legally purchasing a handgun in a gun store would likely end up as the state-vs-federal government somewhere in the courts.

If you do have legal questions about such things, you're better off researching it yourself... for if you turn to social media, you'll get opinions and guesses more often than factual truth, and ultimately, you'll be liable for your own decisions.