Oklahoma’s Latest Gun Law Sparks Heated Community Debate

Oklahoma has a newly updated gun law on the books, and it has more than a few people talking about what it means.

Like most laws, it's not so straightforward. It bobbles a little bit of detail, but all in all, it's a win for all Oklahomans... not just us gun nuts.

House Bill 2818 has been in the works for some time to fix what could be a potential problem. It all comes down to whether or not brandishing a firearm is legal.

In a time before our legislatures read the US Bill of Rights and made carrying firearms legal without a permit, if you took the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act Safety Course/Concealed Carry Course to gain your concealed firearm license, you know how much warning each citizen was given as to when skinning a smokewagon was appropriate.

The general statement from our course leader was "Don't pull your gun unless you plan on firing it." There was more to it than that, but that's the gist. He also drilled into us that dead people can't sue you for damages, but it was all about brandishing a firearm.

If you don't know what that is, brandishing is when you hold a firearm. Some interpretations mention pointing a firearm, or using a gun to intimidate or show menace, but it's just the simple act of holding a gun in your hand. It's still illegal to an extent across most of the country, and Oklahoma is no different.

If a threat (picture a bad guy) came onto your property and you were able to keep him immobile, let's say on the ground at gunpoint, you'd technically be brandishing a firearm. Now, while the odds are low that you, the victim in this scenario, would be charged with brandishing your firearm, they aren't zero.

HB2818 relaxes and basically removes the punishments and fines for that scenario if it were to happen on your property or inside your business. Not a business that you own, but a place at which you work.

Of course, when you work for a corporation out of New York City, you'll still be fired for such a thing, but at least you'd be safe and alive with a plausible and hefty lawsuit on your hands.

You might hear the normal rabblerousings about how this will somehow lead to gunfights in the street, like we've heard over and over from one side of the Oklahoma aisle, but that hasn't happened the last twelve times they said it would.

It's still illegal to willingly point a firearm at another Oklahoman for any reason aside from self-defense of person or property. That's what this bill pulled out of the gray and into black and white.