The only type of business where the law prohibits open (or concealed) handguns is a bar — defined as an establishment where alcohol is consumed if the sale of alcohol constitutes the establishment's primary source of income.
Weapons are also banned from courthouses, government buildings, schools and a handful of other institutions.
But the law allows permit holders to openly carry inside a restaurant like Chili's — which has a bar but serves mostly food — or a liquor store, which sells alcohol but doesn't allow it to be consumed on the premises, Love said.
“The Legislature was very narrow on the places prohibited by statute. I think a lot of business owners wish it wasn't that way,” Love said. For example, there are probably pastors who wish the law included churches so they wouldn't have to make a decision on what, if any, to allow, he said.
Banks, too, have taken different approaches. First Fidelity Bank has posted signs alerting customers that its branches don't allow firearms or weapons. Bank of Oklahoma, on the other hand, does not have a policy for visitors bringing weapons into the bank.
“We have banks in other states, like New Mexico, in which open carry is legal and have not experienced issues as a result,” said Andrea Myers, senior communications manager. Employees, she said, other than security personnel are not allowed to possess weapons at work.
Doug Tippens, president and chief executive of Bank of Commerce, which bans weapons, said he had two customers threaten to close their accounts when they tried to openly carry into the bank. But Tippens, who has been through a bank robbery before, said the policy is in place for the safety of the bank's staff.
“I told them I support the second amendment, but guns make my employees very nervous,” he said.
Restaurant owners have questions
Restaurants that serve alcohol have called the state ABLE Commission, as well as the Oklahoma Restaurant Association, with questions on how to handle certain situations, ABLE assistant director Jim Hughes said. For instance, what should they do if someone openly carrying sits down at the bar inside a restaurant? Can they serve him or her a drink?
The law states a person who is intoxicated can't carry a firearm.
“You can't be intoxicated but that doesn't mean you can't drink,” Hughes said.
The duty servers and bartenders already have to not serve a patron to the point of intoxication extends to someone openly carrying a firearm. If they drink too much, it's the responsibility of the business owner, not the employee, to ask them to leave, Love, the attorney, said.
But if the patron refuses, they aren't committing a gun crime — it's trespassing, Love said. The same goes for a customer openly carrying who enters a business with signs posted not allowing weapons.
