The real state takeover. (cover story)

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  • Author(s): Yeoman, Barry
  • Source:
    Nation. 2/24/1997, Vol. 264 Issue 7, p21-24. 4p. 1 Black and White Photograph.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      EXCLUSIVE & concurrent legislative powers; LEGISLATIVE bodies; TOBACCO laws; WEAPON laws; NATIONAL Rifle Association of America; TOBACCO industry; LOCAL laws; STATE governments
    • Subject Terms:
      UNITED StatesReport Available
    • Abstract:
      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.