How to Carry a Gun Legally

On June 26, 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a blanket ban on ownership, possession and carry of handguns in the District of Columbia. The current trends toward adopting Concealed Carry Permit laws have met with opposition, however, no state having adopted a "shall-issue" Concealed Carry Permit law has reversed its decision to date. Research clearly shows that in states having a "shall-issue" regarding Concealed Carry Permits for a gun, the crime rate has diminished.

Requirements in Oklahoma for a Concealed Carry Permit for a gun include residency, minimum age, submitting fingerprints, passing a background check, attending a certified handgun/firearms safety class, participating in a range check/qualification before a certified trainer (for demonstrating safe firearms handling and practical proficiency) and paying the required fees.

Avoiding a felony:

Several years ago in Oklahoma, the legislature passed a law that required a Concealed Carry Permit to carry a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner, either on the person or in close proximity to the person. Carrying such a weapon without a permit became a felony and since I carry a handgun on occasion and do not wish to become a felon, my husband and I decided to get "legal". Little did I know it would be a "process".

Classes and gun range:

We took classes at a gun range in the City. I did not know what to expect and was a little apprehensive. There was one other woman and about 15 men in the two day class. The first day was instructions in the morning; not difficult at all and in the afternoon an assistant District Attorney came with legal information and instructions. The second day was more instructions in the morning and we went to the gun range in the afternoon. That was fun. We were required to shoot 50 rounds and a fairly easy test followed. Everyone passed. The classes cost about $270.00 for both of us.

Application at the Sheriff's Office (the process begins):

With certification in hand we went to the local Sheriff's Office to apply for our Concealed Carry Permit. I was surprised with the attitude of "disdain" we were shown there. They were certainly not pleased with what we wanted. We were fingerprinted and paid our monies ($160.00) for the necessary records search and left. About a week later we received a letter that we were denied since our fingerprints were unreadable. We went back to the Sheriff's Office for more fingerprints. The same attitude greeted us and we left to await our permit arrival. Another letter of denial came, same reason. The application plainly stated that if denied three times, the application would be null and void.

OSBI:

At that point, I called the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in Oklahoma City and made an appointment there for the fingerprinting to be done. We went to Oklahoma City, found the OSBI headquarters, were treated with courtesy and were assured that the application would not be denied again. A week later we received our third letter of denial. At this point, I developed an attitude! I called the officer in Oklahoma City and explained what I had received (I had taken one of her business cards before leaving her office). She assured me that it would be corrected.....6 days later the Sheriff's office called to tell us we could pick up our Concealed Carry Permits.

Conclusion:

Oklahoma is an undisputed "shall-issue" jurisdiction state. "Shall-issue" means that within the context of gun law, once a person has met certain criteria laid out in the state law, the granting authority has no discretion in the awarding of the Concealed Carry Permit. A Concealed Carry Permit is issued for a period of 5 years and I have renewed my license twice. Had the local Sheriff's Office had the discretion to "not-issue" or "may-issue" as in some states, we would have never received ours. If you are interested in the laws regarding your state, contact a local Certified Instructor for Concealed Carry Permits. The Wikipedia site has a lot of good information on the state laws and a very interesting graft showing changes by state over the years.