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Organizers Plan Big Push on Last Weekend to Sign Permitless Carry Veto Referendum

Matt Trotter
/
KWGS

Volunteers will be out in force this weekend trying to get enough signatures to put permitless carry to a vote in Oklahoma.

Organizer Kimberly Fobbs said they'll be working to gather all 59,000 signatures needed to get State Question 803 on the ballot, just in case some gathered since state Rep. Jason Lowe announced the petition on Aug. 12 are declared invalid.

"You don’t want to walk into Walmart on Nov. 1 and someone has a gun, you don’t know if they’re exercising their right or if they’re there to hurt you. That’s what’s at stake," Fobbs said.

Starting Nov. 1, anyone 21 or older will be able to carry a gun without obtaining a license. Christine Jackson with Moms Demand Action OK said few Oklahomans wanted gun restrictions eased.

"Despite the groundswell of opposition and the gun violence crisis in our country, lawmakers ignored the voices of their constituents and passed a law that would make our state more dangerous," Jackson said.

Organizer Naomi Andrews said the veto referendum should bring together people who don’t own guns and responsible gun owners looking to preserve their rights alike.

"We each know an individual in our lives who is not a responsible enough person to be carrying a weapon in our churches or a gun in our malls or out in public around our children at our parks," Andrews said.

The petition needs 59,000 signatures by Aug. 29. The Moms Demand Action OK Facebook page maintains a running list of signature locations.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.