by Scott McClallen
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed gun restriction bills that will establish universal background checks for all firearm purchases as well as require safe firearm storage.
The gun package follows a February shooting at Michigan State University that killed three students and wounded five others. However, none of the bills would have stopped the shooting if enacted beforehand.
“Today, we are turning our pain into purpose and honoring those we have lost with commonsense gun violence prevention legislation supported by a majority of Michiganders,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Universal background checks and safe storage are long-overdue steps we are proud to take today that will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and domestic abusers and children in the home.”
Whitmer signed Senate Bills 79, 80, 81, and 82 and House Bills 4138 and 4142.
SB 79 would require a firearm stored or left unattended on a premise unloaded and locked or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is or is likely to be present on the premises and establishes penalties for a violation.
The bill will also require the Department of Health and Human Services to inform the public of the penalties and provide literature to federally licensed firearms dealers and revise the wording of a notice that a federally licensed firearms dealer must post on the premises where firearms are sold.
SB 80 updates the state’s criminal code for safe storage of firearms for child access protection.
SBs 81 and 82 exempt firearm safety devices from sales taxes.
House Bills 4138 and 4142 would expand universal background checks to all firearms.
“Protecting children is our top priority,” House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said in a statement. “As elected officials, it is our responsibility to do what we can to help keep our communities safe from gun violence. Requiring guns be safely stored in homes where a minor is present and implementing background checks for the purchase of all firearms are simple reforms that just make sense. Owning a firearm is both a right and a responsibility and we must be sure we are doing all we can to help keep kids safe and to stop the illegal sale of guns.”
The Michigan House approved House Bills 4145–4148, which would allow courts to issue extreme risk protection orders for individuals deemed at risk of hurting themselves or others after the judge considers testimony and other evidence.
Once an order is issued, law enforcement could seize temporarily the individual’s firearms and temporarily prohibit them from purchasing new firearms while the order remains in effect.
Those bills move to the Senate.
Rep. Brian BeGole, R- Antrim Township, opposed red flag law legislation. He said people will abuse the law by offering false information to seize people’s guns, which would endanger law enforcement and residents.
“Requiring officers to stand on a citizen’s porch and inform them that they are there to seize their firearms for any reason is an extremely dangerous situation,” BeGole said in a statement. “In many cases, police will be acting on unverified information to seize the firearms of a person only alleged to have a mental health condition.”
On Thursday, Great Lakes Gun Rights and Michigan Open Carry filed a lawsuit in the Court of Claims claiming that the House and Senate suppressed speech by not allowing gun rights activists to testify against the bills, thus violating the Open Meetings act.
– – –
Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi.
Photo “Gretchen Whitmer” by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
