Why Can Felons Vote But Not Own Guns In Oklahoma

This may have been our most raucous and heated lunch table debate ever, and I can't blame any of my friends for their genuine reactions, but it's a good question. If Oklahoma felons are able to vote as per their constitutional right, why can't they also own guns again?

I know that's a loaded question, and most people zip straight to the thought of rearming violent criminals who have done heinous things, but that's not the intent of the discussion.

I'm the buddy in our group who typically sits back and remains quiet until there's a perfect time to drop something hilarious and pointed into the conversation. This day, it was like a bomb going off and entertaining as heck.

If our sacred and constitutional American rights are inalienable, how can the government pick and choose which ones they'll allow an individual to exercise after reforming his or herself by completing their full sentence?

How voting works as a felon. 

If you've been convicted of a crime in Oklahoma and you've completed your full sentence, you're allowed to re-register and vote again.

It's not a constitutional right that is regained upon being released from prison, but after the time of your full sentence has passed.

If you were sentenced to ten years, but released from confinement in five, you'd still have to wait another five years to vote again.

Why does that not also apply to all of our rights? 

If you are convicted of a crime, you are generally remanded into federal or state custody for a period of time appropriate for your actions. Once you've paid your debt to society, are you not a free American?

I get it. Lord knows a felony conviction follows a person wherever they go, ask just about anyone on either side of my own family tree. It can cost a person long after they've paid their debt in the form of a not-so-stellar personal economic outlook when applying for jobs and such.

This is an Oklahoma thing. 

It's really no shocker, but Texas does things differently. The Lone Star State not only allows a felon to regain their right to vote, but also their right to gun ownership in the name of self-defense at its most basic understanding.

Convicted Texans aren't allowed to carry weapons in public; the state still considers that a privilege rather than a right, but felons are able to lawfully own and keep a firearm at home for defense.

When seconds matter, police are always minutes away. 

Now, this seems like a topic that will never see an agreement between the two sides, but it's a fun one to bring up. Who knows, maybe you'll even take an interest in your own forgotten rights by the time you've argued this with your friends.

Still, if our American rights are inalienable, why is Oklahoma restricting them for anyone?