Pre-emption Law, Concealed Carry Measure Paved the Way for ‘Stand Your Ground’ Bill

A new state law that gives Oklahomans the right to use a gun to defend themselves if they are threatened is just the latest is a series of measures designed to assure citizens of the state can exercise their rights under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The “Stand Your Ground Law” was possible, State Senator Frank Shurden, D-Henryetta, said Tuesday, because of a measure he authored a decade ago that made carrying a concealed weapon legal in Oklahoma.

“The conceal carry law I authored in the Senate in 1995 has provided Oklahomans with peace of mind and it has worked exactly as it was designed,” Shurden said. “Coupled together with our successful concealed carry statute, the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law will mean that no Oklahoman will have to live in fear and our state will be safer for our families.”

It was Shurden and Senate Appropriations Chairman Johnnie Crutchfield, D-Ardmore, who revived the “Stand Your Ground” bill earlier this session when it nearly died without being heard in committee. Crutchfield granted the bill a hearing in the Appropriations Committee where Shurden won passage of the measure before it eventually cleared the Senate floor.

Shurden’s work on behalf of gun owners began during his tenure in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Local jurisdictions, he said, cannot pass ordinances to take away the rights of Oklahomans to carry a concealed weapon or defend themselves because, as a member of the House in the 1980’s, Shurden authored and pushed through a “pre-emption” law that ensures that state law will always supersede any restrictions counties or municipalities seek to impose.

“Around the country we are seeing cities trying to pass restrictive gun laws. That can’t happen here because we’ve had pre-emption since I passed it in the House,” Shurden said. “Our state laws help guarantee that Oklahomans can exercise their Second Amendment rights freely, and protect their families when necessary.”