OK:Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment in Danger of "University Carveout"

Gun Watch ^ | 13 May, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

OK2A has sent out an urgent message that Senator Greg Treat may be intending to carve out an exception universities from the right to keep and bear arms amendment, HJR 1026.  The amendment passed the House and the Senate, but is to be in conference committee and subject to amendment.  From OK2A:

HJR1026, OK2A’s proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution’s Bill of Rights is in trouble.  The Senate author, Senator Greg Treat, appears to be ready to cave in to Higher Ed’s pressure to neutralize HJR1026.  He is prepared to add a carve out that would restrict the right to keep and bear arms by essentially making campus carry unconstitutional (which means it would require another constitutional amendment at some point in the future for Oklahoma to ever adopt campus carry).  The purpose of the Bill of Rights is not to restrict people’s rights; it is meant to protect the freedoms of the people by restricting the government.  This all seems odd coming from a senator who favors campus carry, but that seems to be exactly what Senator Treat is preparing to do.

There is absolutely no good reason for the Senator to do this.  Our vote count tells us we have the votes to pass this without the Higher Ed carve out. Furthermore, after the firestorm that Governor Fallin just experienced due to her veto of three 2A bills and the pressure brought to bear on the Senate leadership to override her veto of HB2461, I don’t see the Senate voting down any gun bills right now.  However, if Senator Treat changes HJR1026, he will be responsible for its demise because we simply cannot allow this restriction of the people’s right to keep and bear arms to be placed in the Bill of Rights.

When we entrusted HJR1026, which represents more than two years of hard work by OK2A and Professor O’Shea, to Senator Treat we had no idea that he would be swayed by Higher Ed but that seems to be the current situation.     We need everyone concerned about their right to keep and bear arms to call or email Senator Treat and firmly but politely tell him to run HJR1026 unchanged.  His direct phone number is and his email address is treat@oksenate.gov.
 

I have seen how much "clout" universities seem to have with the Governor of Arizona and with other Governors as well.   They  seem to be able to sway people that otherwise appear to have principles.

Dean Weingarten  Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

Not good to be putting exceptions in protections for the right to keep and bear arms.

[aragorn]

According to a late-breaking update, Senator Treat “has agreed to leave the language as is in HJR1026”. However, the bill still needs to be signed off by the Conference Committee, one member of which has been less than cooperative on “gun bills”. Let’s hope that the committee does the right thing and signs this bill out so that it can go before both chambers for a final set of votes, and from there to a vote of the People.

[unseelie]

Yep, because not having guns has been a huge boon to students so far.