“Firearms bills to allow most Oklahoma adults to openly carry guns without any training or background checks have led to a showdown in Oklahoma between supporters of expanded gun rights and the state’s business community, including the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder,” abcnews.go.com reports. “The Thunder are among more than two dozen businesses, public universities and law enforcement groups that sent a letter Wednesday to Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman urging him . . .

to stop the two bills, one of which passed late Wednesday [the Senate passed House Bill 3098] on a 37-9 vote.”

On Thursday, the Senate passed House Joint Resolution 1009 by a vote of 39-7. If reconciled and signed, the former will make Oklahoma the 12th state to enact permitless or Constitutional Carry.

If the Resolution makes it out of committee it will place a measure on the November ballot to amend the state Constitution to make any regulation of gun rights subject to strict scrutiny. In other words, the courts would have to strike down any law that infringes on Oklahomans’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.

None of this pleases the usual suspects. Once again, the facts are no impediment to opposition. abcnews.go.com:

Longtime University of Oklahoma President David Boren, a former Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator, said an unintended consequence of the resolution could be to overturn existing gun bans at college athletic events or Thunder basketball games. “It could, for example, possibly cause people from other teams and athletic officials to refuse to come to Oklahoma to participate in athletic contests where fans can bring guns into those contests,” Boren said.

Hello? Nothing in H.B. 3097 prevents colleges or the NBA or any other private entity from banning firearms on its premises. Both bills have a ways to go. At least one legislator — a Democrat — predicts neither bill will make it out of committee.

Sen. Charles Wyrick, D-Fairland, also voted against the measure and predicted that it would not make it to the ballot.

Wyrick said the measure was brought up so lawmakers, in an election year, could be on record voting for a gun bill. He believes that the measure is dead and called it “smoke and mirrors.”

Yes, well, Republicans outnumber Democrats in the Oklahoma house by a margin of 40 to 8, and dominate the Senate by a margin of 71 to 30. Governor Mary Fallin is also a Republican — who vetoed a bill that allowed LICENSED carry on public property. So . . . watch this space. [h/t FedUp]