New gun laws have been rolled out in Oklahoma, including parameters for getting your gun license and carrying firearms in school parking lots, Kfor reported on Saturday.
Starting Nov. 1, there is now a three-year deadline on obtaining a gun license or else the applicant must retake ownership classes. Currently, there are over 200,000 registered gun owners in the Sooner State. There was no deadline for getting a gun license previous to the new laws.
"If you are going to go ahead and get your license after three years later after you've aren't taking a class and it's going to show that you aren't really that interested in having it," Jessica Brown, a gun enthusiast, told Kfor.
Chad Spiva, another gun enthusiast, said owning a firearm is a big responsibility, so getting a license needs to be taken care of in a timely fashion. Despite time restrictions, gun instructors say the new laws will make it easier to get a gun license.
Another change to the state's gun laws may be seen as more controversial. Handguns will now be allowed in the parking lots of public schools in the the cars of licensed owners. Weapons will be allowed to be locked inside vehicles, out of plain view, and left it behind, News 12 reported.
Some parents said they were uncomfortable with guns getting the green light to be kept in the parking lot, even though it's still illegal to bring them inside school buildings.
"Someone can leave their car open and somebody can go in the car and take the gun and go to school," Terry Johnson, an Oklahoma parent, told KXII. "Tempers flare and that could be with anybody."
It was previously a felony for even licensed owners to leave guns inside their vehicles while on school property.
In response to school shootings and gun violence in the United States, at least five states have enforced restrictive gun laws while a dozen or more other states have made guns more accessible. Laws have sparked a national debate on school safety and firearm ownership.
But in the heartland, gun restrictions are less common. As of June 2013, Oklahoma allows any valid gun permit from all 50 states, CNN reported. Those who seek to renew certain permits won't be fingerprinted and district court judges, the state attorney general and assistant district attorneys can now carry guns.
