Oklahoma lawmaker seeks to lower legal age to carry firearm from 21 to 18-years-old
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma State Rep. Jim Olsen (R-Roland) authored a bill to lower the legal age to carry a firearm from 21 to 18 years of age.
According to Rep. Olsen, the proposal, HB 1001, would affirm the constitutional right to bear arms.
In his view, Oklahomans old enough to join the military are old enough to carry.
"The Second Amendment is one of those core rights, given by God, that everybody has," shared the lawmaker.
Olsen's law comes with an emergency provision, meaning it would take effect as soon as it was passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor, Kevin Stitt (R).
Rep. Olsen argued that, "There's a right to vote, so I'm going to say there ought to be a right to carry a firearm if you so desire."
Kay Malan, public education and outreach leader for Moms Demand Action Oklahoma, a gun violence prevention group, asserted that 18-year-olds are too young to exercise such a responsibility.
"We want to minimize the, the danger of people getting hold of guns who don't have the correct judgment, amount of judgment, to be able to use them safely to protect our communities," shared Malan.
She is also concerned that putting more guns into younger people's hands will cause more violence.
"I don't believe that it's a, an infringement on rights to say that the minimum age needs to be 21," she added.
As of 2019, Oklahomans aged 21 years and older can carry firearms without a permit. 18-year-olds are legally allowed to carry firearms if they are active duty military or veterans.
In 2020, Oklahoma ushered in the nation's first anti-red flag law, aimed at preventing violations to Second Amendment rights.
Lawmakers will be taking up the proposal when they return for the legislative session on Feb. 6, 2023.
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