What casket will you be buried in? In Oklahoma, you have too few choices.
I attended a funeral where the gentleman being buried had prepared for that day by building his own casket. He and his loved ones made the choice to not get his casket from the funeral home.
Not all Oklahomans can make that choice.
Yes, you can build your own casket, if you have the skills and desire. There are no state requirements regarding design, materials, finishings or construction. You can also go online and order a casket from a seller in another state. A quick online search will tell you that there are plenty of businesses able to ship top-quality caskets, even Costco, Walmart and Amazon.
Yet it is illegal in Oklahoma to buy one within the state from anyone except a funeral director.
Is that insane, or what?
Oklahoma is only one of three states in the country where residents must purchase urns and caskets from funeral directors when purchasing them within the state. They can't buy from an Oklahoma supplier or an Oklahoma manufacturer of those products.
But you can have them shipped in from out-of-state sellers.
That's because in Oklahoma only fully licensed funeral directors can sell you a casket, and to get that license, you have to complete a minimum two-year accredited mortuary science program, pass the National Board Exam and the Oklahoma State Board of Mortuary Arts Exam, and then complete an apprenticeship.
Why?
There's a huge difference between selling a casket and operating a funeral parlor with equipment for body storage, an embalming process, a crematorium and all the functions of a full-service funeral parlor. That distinction is why 47 other states allow residents to buy funeral merchandise from any retailer.
Instead, in Oklahoma the public is left with fewer options, higher prices due to lack of competition, and fewer opportunities for small businesses across the state.
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Let me give you an example of the absurdity of Oklahoma's law as it currently stands. Todd Collard and Candi Mentink, a husband-and-wife team from Calvin, Oklahoma, operate Caskets of Honor. They customize caskets with designs, like American flags and religious symbols, that artistically reflect the life experiences and accomplishments of the deceased. They want to sell caskets directly to Oklahomans but are prohibited by state law, something they discovered when the Oklahoma Funeral Board fined them for selling their customized caskets.
In 2022, the state's Funeral Board fined Todd and Candi $8,200 for displaying their caskets at a fair without being a licensed funeral director and told them to cease operations.
Todd and Candi paid a reduced fine and moved their business to Texas, where federal law protects their right to engage in interstate commerce and ship caskets to Oklahoma.
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Let me repeat my earlier question. Is that insane, or what?
I am working to fix this injustice. I filed Senate Bill 559 that amends the funeral directors license so that people wanting to just sell funeral service merchandise within Oklahoma are exempt from the licensing requirements.
Pretty simple. Let Oklahoma businesses sell to Oklahomans what businesses in every other state can sell and ship into Oklahoma. Common sense.
Michael Bergstrom represents District 1 in the Oklahoma Senate.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK funeral homes monopolize caskets. Let's change that | Opinion
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