These places don't allow your firearms, despite the new constitutional carry law
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Anna Codutti
Breaking News Editor
Legislation removing all licensing and training requirements for handguns was the first law law signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Billed as constitutional carry or permitless carry, House Bill 2597 doesn’t change where guns are allowed or, for the most part, who can carry them.
Some Democrats tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to allow guns in the Capitol, where they currently are prohibited.
Here are other places where firearms are not welcome, per statute or individual rule.
Oktoberfest
Tulsa Police Sgt. Clay Ballenger speaks to Oklahoma Second Amendment Association President Don Spencer after officers tell Spencer to leave River West Festival Park, the site of Oktoberfest, on Oct. 18, 2019.
Matt Meyer, executive director of the River Parks Authority, said Oktoberfest is a “ticketed and gated” private event and that organizers can therefore set their own rules.
Philbrook Museum of Art
"Per long-standing museum policy, Philbrook will continue to be a firearm-free campus. Other than authorized law enforcement officers, firearms (open or concealed) will not be allowed on Philbrook property (museum, gardens, parking lots, grounds)," director Scott Stulen said in a statement leading up to the Nov. 1 law change.
Gathering Place
Tim Harper walks through Gathering Place on Oct. 13, 2018. He was asked to take his gun and leave the park, where firearms are prohibited by rule. Tulsa Police do not enforce the rule; park security is left to the task.
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons in locations such as Gathering Place and the Tulsa Zoo. It went into effect Nov. 1, 2019.
Hard Rock Casino Tulsa
Cherokee Nation casinos, including the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Catoosa, do not allow patrons to carry firearms.
Page Belcher Federal Building
Carry of firearms is prohibited by Oklahoma law in any structure, building or office space owned or leased by a city, town, county, state or federal governmental authority for the purpose of conducting business with the public.
Tulsa Transit
Currently, Tulsa Transit buses allow the carrying of firearms only by concealed-carry license holders acting within provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act. Also permitted are manual-loaded rifles being transported in a case.
Drillers ONEOK Field
Firearms are prohibited by state law at any publicly owned or operated sports arena or venue during a professional sporting event. ONEOK Field denies admittance for ticket-holders carrying their gun.
University of Oklahoma campus
State statute bans firearms from college, university or technology center school properties.
Tulsa County Courthouse
Oklahoma law prohibits firearms at "any courthouse, courtroom, prison, jail, detention facility or any facility used to process, hold or house arrested persons, prisoners or persons alleged delinquent or adjudicated delinquent."
Public or private schools
Firearms are generally prohibited by state law at "any public or private elementary or public or private secondary school." However, the law allows for private and public schools to designate specific staff who may carry on school property.
Capitol
A measure proposed for 2019 seeks to change the law, but Oklahoma statute currently prohibits firearms from being carried into the state Capitol.
BOK Center
Tulsa's downtown BOK Center arena prohibits firearms by rule. The Brady Theater in the Tulsa Arts District, the Cox Convention Center and the Tulsa Performing Arts Center also prohibit visitors from bringing guns.
Bank of Oklahoma
The Bank of Oklahoma tower in downtown Tulsa posts a sign prohibiting visitors from carrying weapons into the building. Banks generally prohibit firearms as a rule.
River Spirit Casino Resort
The Creek Nation, operator of the River Spirit Casino Resort, is among tribes that prohibit visitors from carrying firearms in the casino.
Osage Casino
Osage Nation is among tribes that do not allow visitors to the casino to carry guns.
Any other private business
State law allows for rules prohibiting firearms to be established individually: "Nothing contained in any provision of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act shall be construed to limit, restrict or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of any person, property owner, tenant, employer, place of worship or business entity to control the possession of weapons on any property owned or controlled by the person or business entity."
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Anna Codutti
Breaking News Editor
After earning a master's in news editing from the University of Missouri, she joined the Tulsa World copy desk in 2010. Send news tips to news@tulsaworld.com.
As featured on
House Bill 2597, which doesn't change where a gun can be taken, passed 70-30, with all Democrats and a handful of Republicans in opposition.
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"Even if we pass constitutional carry, the laws that govern carrying the gun and lethal force will still be in place," on local instructor says.
We support the Second Amendment but do not think that means a firearms free-for-all.
