proposed laws

PA Bill Number: HB2089

Title: Establishing the Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence and Landslide Insurance and Assistance Program within the Department of Environmental Protection; ...

Description: Establishing the Coal and Clay Mine Subsidence and Landslide Insurance and Assistance Program within the Department of Environmental Protec ...

Last Action: Referred to INSURANCE

Last Action Date: May 14, 2024

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Open-carry push having counterproductive impact :: 07/20/2015

WE have long supported robust Second Amendment rights, believing law-abiding Oklahomans with weapons are a threat only to criminals. Yet the recent push for open carry of firearms has, ironically, restricted the sphere where citizens may legally possess a gun. This suggests gun-rights supporters need to rethink their strategy.

Texas-based Whataburger has announced that customers won’t be allowed to openly carry firearms in the chain’s 780 national locations. Preston Atkinson, Whataburger’s president and CEO, said the open display of firearms made many employees and customers “uncomfortable.” Atkinson said patrons licensed to carry concealed handguns would still be allowed to do so.

An official with Open Carry Texas condemned Whataburger’s stance, while the action was praised by Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America. This highlights the bizarre state of the national gun debate: A restaurant chain that allows concealed carry of firearms in its stores is being criticized by gun-rights advocates and praised by gun-control groups.

Yet in other instances, open-carry laws have caused stores to roll back permissive policies regarding even concealed carry of firearms. Target stores and Chipotle are among that group. In 2014, the Washington Post reported that Target, Chipotle “and other businesses previously went along with local gun laws, allowing patrons to openly display weapons in states where the law allows it.” But when members of some gun-rights groups took rifles into stores, company officials felt compelled to revise those policies.

This is a basic issue where gun rights and property rights can conflict. In short, you don’t have the right to carry a firearm onto someone else’s property without their permission. And many businesses are increasingly worried that allowing open carry of firearms will drive away more customers than it will attract.

http://newsok.com/open-carry-push-having-counterproductive-impact/article/5434388