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Legislation removing all licensing and training requirements for handguns moved through the Oklahoma House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon.

Billed as constitutional carry, House Bill 2597 doesn’t change where guns are allowed or, for the most part, who can carry them. It passed 70-30, with all 24 Democrats and a handful of Republicans in opposition.

The bill was authored by about a dozen Republican House members.

“What this does is allow, as the constitution states, that a person can carry a firearm without having to purchase that right,” said Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore. “The Constitution clearly states that we have right to keep and bear arms.”

West said the cost of training and licensing is an unconstitutional barrier to gun ownership, and said HB 2597 will particularly benefit poor people.

“I know a few poor people,” said Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa, whose district covers a wide swath of low income neighborhoods. “Not one of them has ever come to me and said my big issue is deciding between a gun and a sandwich.”