Some people like to delude themselves into believing that they can somehow keep guns out of certain places by making it difficult for some people to carry them there.

Never mind the plethora of examples where mass shootings have happened in places that legally bar guns from the premises or anything. None of those should matter so long as the right noises are being made.

In Oklahoma, some lawmakers aren’t really buying that BS anymore.

A proposed bill would significantly increase where guns can be carried in Oklahoma, including city, town and county buildings as well as the Tulsa and Oklahoma State Fairs.

House Bill 4138 was approved by the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee Feb. 10 and is a “return of a right” to Oklahoma citizens, said Don Spencer, who helped write the legislation as president of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association. The bill, if approved, would go into effect Nov. 1, 2022.

“We know we have the right to carry, we know we have the right to carry there,” Spencer said. “We know that it’s a constitutional right, and the right should have actually never been taken away from the people.”

But some city officials think the bill conflicts with property rights, and could produce more violence.

Specifically, the bill would allow guns to be carried:

• in city, town and county buildings that are not used for public meetings under the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act
• in a concealed manner on the fairgrounds and in buildings of the fairgrounds that
  are open to the general public during the Oklahoma or Tulsa State Fairs

While the bill strikes federal buildings from the list of places it is unlawful to carry a gun, Spencer said it would still be a federal crime to carry into federal buildings.

Now, I’m a big believer in property rights, but so far, I’ve seen no evidence that people making that claim actually believe in property rights all that much. Instead, they’re using it as an excuse to try and restrict gun rights.

Especially since at least some of this property is actually owned by the public. Arguing property rights as a justification to restrict the public from carrying on publicly-owned property is kind of a BS argument.

Plus, what people tend to forget is that even if they could provide perfect security inside these facilities or on this property–something they can’t actually do–people still have to leave. Can that perfect security carry over to the parking lot? Or the right home?

Obviously not.

That’s why laws banning restrictions on the ability to carry in public buildings are such an issue. Even if I thought they could keep me safe, and the Virginia Beach municipal building shooting shows they can’t, they can’t keep me safe outside those grounds.

They want me disarmed and vulnerable leading up to the doors or gates but will say the onus is on me to keep myself safe.

Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

My hope is that this goes through and that folks in Oklahoma don’t have to deal with this nonsense anymore.