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Oklahoma Allow Carrying of Firearms Without a Permit Referendum (2020)
| Oklahoma Allow Carrying of Firearms Without a Permit Referendum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Firearms | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
The Oklahoma Allow Carrying of Firearms Without a Permit Referendum was not on the ballot in Oklahoma as a veto referendum on November 3, 2020.[1]
Measure design
This referendum would have asked voters to approve or reject House Bill 2597. HB 2597 was designed to allow people age 21 years and older (or 18 and older if a member or veteran of the military) to carry a firearm, whether concealed or unconcealed, without a permit.[2]
Text of measure
The full text of House Bill 2597, which this referendum sought to repeal, is available here.
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title for the referendum was as follows:
| “ | This measure refers Enrolled House Bill 2597 ("2597") to a vote of the people. 2597 passed during the first Regular Session of the 57th Legislature. 2597 legalizes the concealed or unconcealed carrying of loaded or unloaded firearms by any person twenty-one (21) years of age or older, or eighteen (18) years of age or older if the person is a current military member or veteran, without any additional licensing requirements, if the person is not otherwise disqualified from possession of a firearm by state or federal law, and into any location where carrying firearms is not specifically prohibited. 2597 also legalizes possession of firearms, machetes, blackjacks, loaded canes, hand chains, or metal knuckles in defined areas of colleges, universities, and technology centers. 2597 also criminalizes possession of firearms by aliens illegally in the United States. 2597 also amends the laws regarding transportation of firearms, does not require a person in possession of a firearm to notify law enforcement of the firearm during arrest, detention, or a traffic stop, instead requires law enforcement to ask whether the person possesses a firearm, and makes failure to disclose the firearm a citation offense with a maximum fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
SHALL ENROLLED HOUSE BILL 2597 BE APPROVED? FOR ENROLLED HOUSE BILL 2597: YES AGAINST ENROLLED HOUSE BILL 2597: NO A "YES" vote is a vote in favor of Enrolled House Bill 2597. A "NO" vote is a vote against House Bill 2597.[3] |
” |
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Oklahoma, the number of signatures required to qualify a veto referendum for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election. Signatures are due 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session in which the targeted law was passed.
The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 59,320 valid signatures
- Deadline: 90 days following the adjournment of the legislative session at which the bill was passed
The secretary of state verifies signatures and submits the totals and the vote totals that determine the requirement to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, which makes the final determination of sufficiency.
Details about this referendum
Representative Jason Lowe (D-97) filed the referendum petition on August 12, 2019. The deadline for the signature drive was 5 p.m. on August 29, 2019.[1] Signatures were filed on August 29, but an exact number was not provided. Around 2 p.m. on August 29, Rep. Lowe said the campaign was about 10,000 signatures short but that number was excluding petitions that the campaign had not yet counted.[4]The Secretary of State's office planned to begin a full count of signatures starting on September 9, 2019.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
The Oklahoma solicitor general reported that proponents had collected 37,057 valid signatures, meaning the measure failed to qualify for the ballot.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 NonDoc, "Referendum effort seeks to stop Oklahoma’s permitless carry law," accessed August 14, 2019
- ↑ Oklahoma Legislature, "House Bill 2597," accessed August 14, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Tulsa World, "Petition effort to nullify gun law continues up to Thursday deadline but appears to come up short," August 30, 2019
- ↑ OKC Fox, "Opposition to Constitutional carry falls well short of goal," accessed September 12, 2019
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State of Oklahoma Oklahoma City (capital) |
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