Oklahoma’s new permitless carry law is now in effect, meaning those who can legally own a firearm in the state can now legally carry as well, no permit or permission slip required. Specifically, the law applies to those 21 and older, or those under 21 who are active duty military members. The law doesn’t scrap Oklahoma’s existing concealed carry license, but no license is required to carry in the state.

Rep. Jason Lowe, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, tried repeatedly to stop the law from going into effect, including filing a lawsuit claiming the bill authorizing permitless carry violated the state’s constitution. Thursday afternoon, hours before the law went into effect, the Oklahoma State Supreme Court rejected Lowe’s request for a temporary injunction that would have blocked the law’s implementation.

On Thursday, Lowe filed for an emergency stay and temporary injunction in the case with the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

In court documents obtained by News 4, Lowe argues that House Bill 2597 violates the single-subject rule by addressing a number of other subjects including a campus weapon ban, undocumented immigrant actual and toy firearm ban, transportation of firearms in vehicle, preemption, and immunity.

In the paperwork, the plaintiffs ask the Supreme Court to reverse the trial court’s denial of the temporary injunction.

That argument didn’t hold much weight with the justices, apparently, as they declined the temporary injunction.

As someone who lived in Oklahoma for 25 years, I’m thrilled that the state’s adopted permitless or Constitutional carry. I only wish my old friend Mike McCarville were here to see it. Mike was my program director at KTOK-AM in Oklahoma City for several years, and was also a part of the early days of NRA News Cam & Co. when I left talk radio in Oklahoma City to cover Second Amendment issues full-time. He was heavily involved in the Oklahoma Rifle Association, and received their award for the best member of the media so many times that they eventually named the award after him. I still have my Mike McCarville Communicator of the Year award in my home office, and I know that he would be so happy to see his beloved state adopt permitless carry, though he might have wondered what took them so long.

There are now 16 states that do not require a permit for legal gun owners to carry, which is twice the number of discretionary-issue states like New Jersey, Maryland, and California. The right to carry revolution continues to make great strides around the nation, and hopefully before long we’ll have a Supreme Court decision recognizing that the right to bear arms is just as real and fundamental as the right to keep them.