TULSA, Okla. — A Senate bill proposing a state sales tax exemption on firearm safety devices has won committee approval. It's one of many gun safety bills proposed in the current legislative session.
Like most moms, Rebecca Fincher will do anything for her kids, like help her youngest son, Justin, do his third-grade math homework.
When she gets free time, Fincher will often promote gun protection and ending gun violence. It's something near and dear to her heart.
It was May 2021 when Fincher says her 20-year-old son was sitting on the couch with his wife at Lakeside Place apartments. It's when she said two people in an apartment next door were fighting over a loaded gun. She said the gun went off and hit her son directly in the head.
She said it was a mother's worst nightmare.
"He never regained consciousness. He was in ICU for four days and passed away after that," Fincher said.
2 News spoke with Fincher on Feb. 8, 2024. It was nearly three years after she lost her son, Aidan.
The discussion comes at a similar time when Oklahoma State Senator Jo Anna Dossett proposed Senate Bill 1476, which would provide a state sales tax exemption for Oklahomans purchasing firearm safety devices, such as gun safes, cases, lock boxes, and trigger locks.
"No one was even threatening anyone with that weapon. They were just in a heated situation, and it caused everything to escalate. A simple gun lock or safe would have changed the entire story," Fincher said.
If passed, it'll cost the state $166,000
Fincher said more is needed to solve the problem in Oklahoma, but it's a start.
"I often think of the couple on the other end of this. This has affected their lives forever," she said
Next, the bill will head to the Senate floor for a hearing.
Other gun safety bills currently being discussed include Sen. Nathan Dahm's bill –requiring state public schools to offer a gun safety and history course as an elective.
Another one by Sen. Jessica Garvin would increase the state penalty for carrying illegal firearms on school property.
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