So my spouse, on a computer in the other room, sends me a link to a Think Progress piece about Paul Ryan in which actual religious people are criticizing his plan, and I figure as long as I'm there, I should look at the front page. And what do I find there but a headline, Oklahoma State Senator Justifies Need For ‘Open Carry’ Gun Law Due To Threat From Wild Turkeys.
Indeed. Seems that the Oklahoma law enforcement community doesn't want it, and seems that the previous governor, Brad Edgar (D) vetoed the last try, but, well, the NRA wants to try again. Meet the state senator below the squiggle.
This is State Senator Ralph Shortey (R-Obviously)
He represents a district in Oklahoma City. He has previously sponsored bills that
would prohibit the manufacturing and sale of food “which contains aborted human fetuses.” He also has proposed legislation to “abolish the state Court of Criminal Appeals and…to eliminate the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s power to review the constitutionality of laws.”
TeaPartius Maximus, apparently.
And the turkeys? From "Which Turkey?" The Tulsa World, March 31:
During committee discussions, Shortey argued that he shouldn’t be required to pay fees and get a license to carry a weapon. Here’s how he justified that:
“I was in oil and gas,” Shortey said. “I was out on a lease at one time and I got attacked by a turkey. Wait until you get attacked by a turkey. You will know the fear that a turkey can invoke in a person. And so I beat it with a club. That was all I could do.
“I wish that I had a gun with me,” he said. “And I started carrying a gun in my truck after that without a license because I didn’t want to get attacked by a mountain lion. Turkeys are bad enough.”
The
World continues:
Wild animals can be aggressive, especially during mating season or while protecting their young. But this turkey frightened the senator enough that he had to beat it death with a club? We hope it was turkey season, because you can't kill a turkey out of season. Maybe because the senator feared for his life there is a loophole in the law. Maybe Oklahoma's stand your ground law covers turkey attacks.
This bill now moves to the full Senate where it is very likely to be approved.
We hope the debate there is more thoughtful.
Open-carry is needed to protect us from enraged turkeys?
Seriously?
I really can't improve on this.