Janice Walker, who identified herself as the founder of Mothers On A Mission, told the Senate Judiciary Committee about the 2023 shooting death of her son and urged support for Senate Bill 9-57, a state ban on Glock conversion devices that make semi-automatic pistols fire automatically.

“His fingers looked as if they had exploded at the tips,” Walker said, describing the wounds her son suffered. “My son…crashed in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. They revived him, took him into surgery where he crashed on the Operating Table.”

Nut graf: Walker’s testimony was emotional and focused on the power of devices that convert pistols to fire continuously; sponsors agreed to hear her testimony but said they would not hold a vote on the bill during the committee’s session and instead would place it on the committee’s gun-bill calendar next week.

Sponsor Senator Lamar introduced the measure as a state ban on “Glock switches,” noting that automatic fire is already prohibited at the federal level but that there was no explicit state statute addressing the device. Committee members offered condolences and thanked Walker for traveling from Memphis; Senator Kyle and others acknowledged the testimony but said the bill would be considered on the committee’s schedule for gun-related legislation.

Ending: The sponsor and the chair agreed the committee would not vote on SB 9-57 at the hearing; the bill will be scheduled for consideration during the committee’s gun-bill calendar the following week.