Today, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously voted to override Governor Fallin’s (R) surprise veto of House Bill 2461. As previously reported, the state House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to override this veto last week by a bipartisan 86 to 3 vote. Since this veto was overridden by both legislative chambers, HB 2461 has been enacted into law and will take effect on November 1, 2014.
Authored in the House by state Representative Mike Turner (R-82) and in the Senate by state Senator Nathan Dahm (R-33), HB 2461 will require that a chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) sign an application for the transfer of any item regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA) within fifteen days if the applicant is not prohibited by law from receiving it. These reforms benefit law-abiding Oklahomans by ensuring that the process to obtain NFA items already legal in Oklahoma remains consistent, fact-based and objective.
HB 2461 was sent to Governor Fallin for her signature following its near unanimous passage in the Oklahoma Legislature. In a surprising political move, the Governor vetoed this consensus legislation. Your NRA is happy to report that the House and Senate were able to come together to enact these important policy improvements. Oklahoma is now the fifth state to enact this legislation this year, following Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky and Utah.
Please thank state Senator Nathan Dahm (R-33), Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman (R-12), Senator Mike Schulz (R-38), state Representative Mike Turner (R-82) and House Speaker Jeffrey Hickman (R-58) for their leadership and support of the Second Amendment in Oklahoma. Without their leadership, enactment of HB 2461 would not have been possible this year.