Abstract

The real state takeover

When officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were planning the 1996 State Fair, they decided to play it safe and ban concealed weapons. With more than 1 million people drinking beer and getting rowdy over eleven days and nights, they reasoned, allowing guns into the fairgrounds could prove a lethal mistake. Thanks to the Oklahoma legislature, Tulsa couldn't follow through. Last spring, at the urging of the National Rifle Association, state lawmakers passed a bill preventing local governments from banning hidden weapons at fairgrounds. The two most effective champions of pre-emption are the National Rifle Association and the tobacco industry. That's not because they have more clout than other industries in state legislatures; the insurance, banking, medical and real estate lobbies often have an easier time getting their laws passed. Rather, it's because tobacco and gun supporters have more of a need to pre-empt local laws.