Oklahoma recently passed a law that aims to protect gun owners who need to use their weapon to defend themselves against a potential attacker. This law ensures that individuals can legally point a gun at or intimidate someone if they are safeguarding their home or business. This addition to the legislation brings more clarity to the interpretation of the Second Amendment in Oklahoma.
The new Oklahoma law explicitly states that individuals have the right to use a weapon to intimidate or defend their home, property, or business.
Under the leadership of Governor Kevin Stitt, House Bill 2818 was signed into law and took immediate effect. While Oklahoma already had measures in place for “stand your ground” situations concerning personal safety, this bill extends those protections to include safeguarding property.
That’s as it should be; one of the purposes of the Second Amendment, as well as a fundamental right of the citizenry, is the right to be secure in one’s liberty and property, and also the right to protect that property from attack or theft. Oklahoma, we should note, was already a Castle Doctrine state; this new law just clarifies some of the aspects of that legal right.
“What this bill does is provide some clarity for where the Castle Doctrine is applied, and in this statute, thankfully signed by the governor two days ago, expands that boundary of our castle doctrine up to the edge of your property,” said Rep. Jay Steagall (R-Yukon), who authored the bill in an interview over the phone with News 4 Friday.
Steagall said it’s an effort that’s been in the works for years, and was tentatively dubbed the “Private Property Protection Act.” During debate on the Oklahoma House floor in March, Steagall used Oklahoma’s constitutional right to bear arms in reference to the law’s justification. He said the bill was drafted with help from the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association, but at the time said he hadn’t spoken with any law enforcement agencies or District Attorney’s offices about potential implications of the bill.
The primary implication of this law will be that homeowners and business owners will be more secure in their homes and businesses.
