OK: Legislation would give new support to worksite gun law

February 11, 2005
The Shawnee (OK) News Star

Oklahoma lawmakers provided added support Thursday for a state law that allows workers to keep a gun in their locked vehicles at work -- a law that is being challenged in court by national employers.

The House Judiciary Committee passed a measure exempting businesses from legal liability if a gun is used at a work site after its author, Rep. Greg Piatt, R-Ardmore, said the bill addresses business concerns about Oklahoma's worksite gun law. The bill now goes to the full House.

"Businesses had two concerns -- safety and liability," Piatt said. "I believe this bill addresses the one aspect that we can control and that is liability."

Mike Seney, senior vice president of The State Chamber, which represents 2,000 businesses in Oklahoma and 26 other states, said the legislation does nothing to address the more basic problem -- safety.

"The key issue is we don't want people shot in our place of business," Seney said.

Click here to read the complete story from The Shawnee (OK) News Star.

Commentary:
Uhhh, someone needs to point Mr. Sweeney to the shootings at the Kansas City ConAgra plant, or at the Toledo Jeep plant - places where guns were banned. Obviously barring employees' right to self-defense while traveling to and from work is NOT the solution to Mr. Sweeney's "key issue".

And while we'd like to hope that a liability exemption would make a difference to Oklahoma businesses, it is worth noting that Ohio has such an exemption, yet too many businesses in this state still affirmatively disarm their employees and customers, despite overwhelming evidence that gun bans do not stop criminal attacks.

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