Senate hears bill to offer tax credit for gun safes; sponsor frames measure as a tool to reduce unintentional shootings and suicides

Senate Bill 531, carried by Senator Andrea Olsen (D‑Missoula), would create a refundable individual credit to encourage purchase of qualifying gun safes and other secure storage devices. Olsen told the Senate Taxation Committee the proposal is meant as a practical tool to improve safe storage practices and reduce deaths and injuries that occur when people gain access to someone else’s firearm.

Olsen opened the hearing by citing what she described as a key statistic that motivated the bill: "75% of all gun deaths are caused by someone getting a hold of somebody else's gun," and said the legislation "is a tool to help people keep their guns safe." The bill establishes technical minimums for qualifying safes and proposes a $300 refundable credit to offset part of the purchase cost. The sponsor said the intent is to lower a…