Oklahoma Supreme Court Stops Initiative Designed to Kill Constitutional Carry

Constitutional Carry
Constitutional Carry

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- On 23 June, 2020, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dealt another blow to the efforts by  Democrat Jason Lowe and others to kill Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma.

Constitutional Carry is the right to carry a loaded handgun in most public spaces, concealed or openly. It is the state of law that existed when the Constitution was written and when the Bill of Rights was ratified.

On 27 February, 2019 Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed HB 2597 into law. Oklahoma became the 15th member of the Constitutional Carry club.

The bill had become very popular in the legislature. It had passed with veto-proof majorities in the House, 70 to 30, and in the Senate 40 to 6.

It had been a long, hard, fight, with Governor Mary Fallin vetoing Constitutional Carry on 11 May, 2018.

Oklahoma law allows for a veto referendum to repeal bills passed by the legislature.

On 12 August, 2019, Democrat Jason Lowe, District 97, Oklahoma City, filed a petition for a veto referendum. It was only two weeks until the deadline to collect the signatures necessary.

Two weeks later, the signatures were filed, but fell far short of the number necessary to hold a veto referendum, with 37,057 signatures. 59,320 signatures were required.  The referendum was dismissed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on 7 October, 2019.

Jason Lowe and others then sought a temporary injunction the prevent Constitutional Carry from going into effect. The temporary injunction was denied by the district court. Lowe and others then applied for an emergency stay and temporary injunction. Those were denied by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on 31 October, 2019.

Lowe and others then filed initiative No. 425 to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to reverse the Constitutional Carry law, at least in part, on 3 February, 2020.

The Oklahoma Constitution grants broad initiative and referendum powers to the electorate. Oklahoma law requires the gist of the initiative (the statement of the changes being made and the effect on existing law), to be accurate to prevent fraud, deceit, or corruption of the initiative process.

Petition No. 425 was challenged by the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association (OK2A), on 21 February, 2020. The case went directly to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.  On 10 March, 2020,  the Oklahoma Attorney General filed a notice of intent, which resulted in a brief to the Supreme Court, generally supporting the OK2A position.

On  23 June, 2020, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma decided, in an opinion, that Initiative No. 425 violated the requirements for a gist that is free of misleading terms or deceitful language. From the opinion:

IV. CONCLUSION

¶28 The gist suggests a change to the law that is not being proposed, does not accurately explain the proposal’s effect on existing law, and is misleading.

INITIATIVE PETITION NO. 425, STATE QUESTION NO. 809
IS DECLARED INVALID AND ORDERED STRICKEN FROM THE BALLOT

Seven judges concurred in favor of the opinion, one judge recused themselves from the opinion, and  judge concurred in part and dissented in part.  From

Whether this is an end to the ongoing attempts by Democrat Representative Lowe and others to end Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma remains to be seen.

Initiatives and referendums are expensive.

It is not clear who is paying the bill, and how much money they are willing to expend in these attempts to end Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma.


About Dean Weingarten:Dean Weingarten

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

25 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Matt in Oklahoma

This is a lesson that others from other states and cities need to learn: Just because you did it right and won does not mean they won’t stop coming after you and that you have to stay on top of things.

Bobtail

Well, now there will be blood in the streets just like in Missouri, Kansas, and Arizona. Oh, wait……..

KDad

I suspect Michael Bloomberg and possibly George Soros are paying the bills for the fight to derail Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma. Just a guess.

Phil in TX

I believe that your “guess” is dead nuts accurate.
Phil in TX

Mike Crognale

“Whether this is an end to the ongoing attempts by Democrat Representative Lowe and others to end Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma remains to be seen.”

It never ends for these traitors. They will be back. Next time they will have more than enough signatures to force the referendum. Then, when it’s voted down they will try again.

Phil in TX

Unfortunately, MC, I believe you are correct. Time for someone to challenge this piece of horse dookey legislator and get him voted out of office and replaced with a strong 2A supporter.
Phil in TX

USA

“Constitutional Carry is the right to carry a loaded handgun in most public spaces, concealed or openly. It is the state of law that existed when the Constitution was written and when the Bill of Rights was ratified.”  “Thus, the right to carry arms for self-defense inherently includes the right to carry in public,” Justice Thomas wrote. “This conclusion not only flows from the definition of “bear Arms” but also from the natural use of the language in the text. As I have stated before, it is ‘extremely improbable that the Framers understood the Second Amendment to protect little more… Read more »

Wass

The fact that even in Second Amendment friendly states like Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, etc., it’s always Democratic legislators, with very exceptions, who stand against popular gun friendly legislation, proves that the Democratic Party is hellbent for gun control and will brook no views otherwise.

Stag

Texas isn’t as gun friendly as you think. In fact, it’s been Republicans who have killed constitutional carry for the last several legislative sessions.

JoeUSooner

@Wass,
You are exactly right, and I thank you for that. However, I ask one small favor. Please stop calling it the “Democratic” Party… it is the “Democrat” Party, and there’s a world of difference in those two words. Thank you!

Cotay

The official name of their Party is the Democratic Party. You have it backwards

RoyD

A pile of crap, by any other name, would smell the same.

JoeUSooner

Their “official” name is whatever the hell they decide it is this week. But regardless of what they currently call themselves, the original name was indeed “Democrat” Party.

[They are too damnably rock-stupid to understand that simply calling themselves something… like a glass of milk… does not make it true.]

BrainMatters

Sounds like the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court should be Administratively switched and then let the State Legislature Impeach the one ones that don’t know their job titles.

Last edited 3 years ago by BrainMatters
JoeUSooner

EXCELLENT idea! Too bad it is not practical, because I (and most others here) would love to see it!!

Green Mtn. Boy

The tyranny crowd takes it in the shorts in favor of freedom and liberty.

USA

The Illuminati is printing it’s own ballots to replace the ballots of Trump supporters.

https://qnation.us/trump-reveals-our-greatest-enemy/

Last edited 3 years ago by USA
Grigori

I am glad they now have Constitutional Carry in Oklahoma. Any restoration of rights is a good thing in my opinion. That said, was this one of those laws that only applied to Oklahoma citizens? Seems as though I recall hearing that it only benefited citizens of Oklahoma and not out-of-staters who visited there. If such is the case, is that part really legal or Constitutional?

USA

No more constitutional than determining what RIGHTS a person has by where their feet are located. Although every state may enact laws none can infringed upon constitutionally protected RIGHTS more than stated in the plain English text of the BoR’s and this is where Trump appointed Federal Judges come in because they aren’t going to let the Illuminati Kool-Aid indoctrinated un-constitutional Police get away with throwing the Constitution in the trash. Miranda vs Arizona (1966) : “Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule making or legislation which would abrogate them.” Marbury v Madison “that… Read more »

Knute

Or, we could all start using my favorite term, “The Quiet War”, being fought with silent weapons: “…it was decided to privately wage a quiet war against the American public with an ultimate objective of permanently shifting the natural and social energy (wealth) of the undisciplined and irresponsible many into the hands of the self-disciplined, responsible, and worthy few. In order to implement this objective, it was necessary to create, secure, and apply new weapons which, as it turned out, were a class of weapons so subtle and sophisticated in their principle of operation and public appearance as to earn… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Knute
USA

“TOP SECRET: Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, An introductory Programming Manual” was uncovered quite by accident on July 7th, 1986 when an employee of Boeing Aircraft Co. purchased a surplus IBM copier for scrap parts at a sale, and discovered inside details of a plan, hatched in embryonic days of the “Cold War” which called for control of the masses through manipulation of Industry, peoples’ pastimes, education and political learning’s. It called for a quite revolution, putting brother against brother, and diverting the public’s attention from what is really going on. For all intents and purposes, this document has “come… Read more »

Knute

And the full document is still available under FOIA, so long as one has that number (TM-SW7905.1) and sends a written request to the DOD, USN, ONI!. It is also relevant that it was first found in that scrap photocopier at the bottom of the blank paper bin. Where it would have had to have been placed by someone, in the form of what the spook agencies call a “dead drop”. The preferred method of disseminating sensitive documents, since the one who leaves it in the copier is not the one to retrieve it. This keeps the droppor and the… Read more »

RoyD

The answer is yes, anyone can carry, unless you are ineligible to possess otherwise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Oklahoma

“Oklahoma recognizes all out-of-state handgun carry permits, even if the issuing state does not recognize an Oklahoma carry permit. Prior to November 1, 2019, anyone who resided in a state where carrying a handgun does not require a license and who is legally eligible to carry in their state was able to carry a handgun in Oklahoma without a permit. As of November 1, 2019, the law was expanded to allow for permitless carry for anyone legally eligible to possess a firearm.”

Wass

JoeUSooner Thank you. I stand corrected.