The Oklahoma chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action issued the following statement after the House Public Safety Committee advanced HB 3104, extreme legislation that would expand the state’s existing preemption laws, tying the hands of local officials and further prohibiting them from taking steps to prevent gun violence in their communities. Preemption laws prevent local mayors and public officials most familiar with local criminal activity from passing common-sense public safety measures designed to keep their communities safe.
“Our communities are in dire need of real, evidence-based solutions to gun violence,” said Diane Tipling, a volunteer with the Oklahoma chapter of Moms Demand Action. “The last thing we need is a law that will punish local officials for trying to keep their communities safe. This is backwards and counterproductive — and it will only serve to worsen the gun violence crisis in Oklahoma.”
Oklahoma has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, while maintaining a gun violence rate well above the national average. The state lacks all foundation gun safety laws, and state legislators are actively working to weaken the state’s gun safety system even further. Everytown’s interactive gun law platform — which shows the direct correlation between the strength of a state’s gun laws and its rate of gun deaths — is available here.
In an average year, 735 people die and 1,435 more are wounded by guns in Oklahoma. Guns are the leading cause of death among the state’s youth population. In Oklahoma, an average of 64 children and teens die by guns every year. Gun violence costs Oklahoma $5 billion each year, of which $163.0 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Oklahoma is available here.
