Sen. Nathan Dahm wants 18- to 20-year-olds included in Oklahoma's constitutional carry provisions

Though the Legislature isn’t expected to consider such bills until next year’s session, at least two gun rights advocacy groups have already publicly expressed support for the measure.

Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, said in an announcement that he filed Senate Bill 1093 because of his belief that “the primary function and responsibility of government is to protect individual rights.” He said that under the U.S. Constitution’s right to have and bear arms, a person should “not have to wait until turning 21 to exercise their right to self-defense.”

Reached by phone Monday evening, Dahm said there was “no specific catalyst” that led him to file the bill earlier that day outside of wanting it to coincide with Oklahoma’s official “Second Amendment Day.”

“I’ve always felt that as we’ve expanded rights to keep and bear arms, that that should expand to all Oklahoma citizens, including 18-year-olds,” he said. He added that he’s seen other states enact similar protections for 18- to 20-year-old gun owners.

In his announcement, Dahm said the state has made “great gains” on having Second Amendment protections become law, which he said was largely due to efforts of organizations such as the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association and the National Association for Gun Rights. In a quote tweet that referenced a news article about his bill Monday afternoon, Dahm said of his position, “Yes, yes I do. Why shouldn’t 18, 19 and 20 year olds have their right to self-defense restored?”

The constitutional carry law allows the carrying of guns, either concealed or openly, without having to obtain a license. The text of Dahm’s proposal would remove the 21-year-old age threshold, instead requiring that the person carrying a gun meets the minimum age “provided in Section 1 Article III of the Oklahoma Constitution.”

Dahm said he expects opposition to his proposal, noting that the 2019 bill also went through challenges in the Legislature before becoming law. But he maintained that gun owners between 18 and 21 should also have legal protection.

“I’m not going to take it for granted,” he said of support in the Legislature. “But I’m going to push this through as soon as possible to restore those rights for Oklahomans.”

Don Spencer, OSAA president, said in a statement accompanying the news release that he supports the initiative, and he called Dahm a “champion for liberty” during his time in the Oklahoma Senate. The state was the 15th to turn a constitutional carry bill into law.

He said many people had claimed that “Oklahoma would turn into the ‘Wild West’ if we passed Constitutional Carry.”

“As usual, their lies were unfounded scare tactics seeking to dictate and dominate other people’s lives. I’m sure they’ll continue to use the same sophistry to try to oppose this bill, but as always I will fight for the people and champion the cause of liberty no matter who it offends.”

Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, has been among the most prominent legislative opponents of legislation such as constitutional carry, as has the Oklahoma Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which seeks to draw attention to and stop gun violence.

The Moms Demand Action chapter opposed the passage in 2019 of House Bill 2597, which legalized open carry of guns without a permit in public for adults 21 and older. The organization has argued that such laws can lead to a “substantial increase” in gun violence.

Lowe attempted twice with the aid of Moms Demand Action volunteers to present a question to voters of whether constitutional carry should be repealed. In doing so, he called the 2019 law “dangerous” and an “utter disaster” based at least partly on reports last year of gun violence at an Oklahoma City mall.

But Chris Stone, a spokesman for the National Association for Gun Rights, called the proposal a “rights-restoring bill” and said “all law-abiding adults in Oklahoma” should enjoy protection under the 2019 law.

“A 20-year-old single mom should not be forced to beg for government’s permission to protect herself and her kids, and if you’re old enough to serve in America’s armed forces, you should be able to carry a firearm without first having to pay a tax,” Stone said in the news release.

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