Michigan Capitol | Susan J. Demas
A slew of firearm restrictions moved forward in the Michigan state legislature as Democrats pushed through final priorities in the last days of a bicameral majority.
Police destruction of relinquished firearms
In the House, many items placed on daily agendas have stalled as parties caucus, but of the few efforts that cleared the chamber Thursday, legislation to mandate the destruction of firearms received in buyback programs made it through.
“We don’t need any more guns out in our communities,” Rep. Felicia Brabec (D-Pittsfield) said after House bills 6144–6146 cleared the House along party lines. “There is a gun violence epidemic in our country.”
Brabec said her legislation, which now heads over to the state Senate for its approval after passing along party lines in the House, will codify a policy Michigan State Police, or MSP, already implements.
Since March, MSP has taken firearms that have been received through gun buyback programs or guns that have been received in the commission of a crime and sent them to a Jackson processing facility for destruction.
At the end of 2023 it was revealed by a New York Times investigation that the out-of-state company Michigan police was previously sending firearms to for disposal had been repurposing components for the secondary firearms market, specifically build-at-home gun kits.
“We don’t need any more guns out in our communities anymore,” Brabec said, adding that it would be “wonderful” if the legislation led to the reduction of firearms that are built at home from spare parts or kits.
Gun safety advocates and gun violence survivors rallied with lawmakers last week to push for several reforms including Brabec’s legislation, impressing the need to end gun-related tragedies in Michigan.
Michigan has endured several mass shootings in recent years including the deadly school shootings at Oxford High School in 2021 and Michigan State University in 2023.
Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) spoke on the floor ahead of the chamber vote, calling the package a “Trojen Horse” disguised as a bill to support public safety, but in reality working to reduce the total number of guns in Michigan.
“If you actually want to do something in the name of public safety, enact constitutional carry, conduct a state-level investigation into the Oxford shooting, get to the root of the issue,” Schriver said.
Ban on ghost guns
Over in the Senate, Democrats cleared legislation banning the purchase, possession and distribution of firearms without valid serial numbers, also known as “ghost guns”. Such firearms can present difficulties in connecting weapons to crimes.
At the gun safety gathering last week, gun reform advocate Denise Wieck told attendees about her 17-year-old son’s story of being shot with a ghost gun. Her son, Guy Boyd, had been spending time with his best friend who accidentally shot Boyd in the head with a gun he had made from a kit the 17-year-old was able to purchase and then build in 30 minutes.
“No other family should go through what our family went through,” Wieck said. “Do not sit back idly and think ‘this did not happen to me. This could not happen to me’ because that’s what I thought.”
Before the Democratic-led state Senate voted on the ghost gun ban, Senate Bills 1149 and 1150, Sen. Joe Bellino (R-Monroe) offered his no vote explanation saying that the legislation “is another attempt to infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens who responsibly exercise their Second Amendment rights”. The ban passed along party lines and will need state House approval.
In the last year the Democratic-led legislature has passed several gun safety reforms including universal background checks on all gun sales in Michigan, safe store requirements for any firearms and ammunition when a minor could have access and implementing extreme risk protection orders allowing courts to order the confiscation of firearms from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others.
It takes a robust approach to address gun violence and prevent another mass shooting from happening in Michigan, Kazia Kelly of Moms Demand Action, a gun safety advocacy group said in a statement Friday.
“We are pleased today to see Michigan Senators using these last days of the 2024 session to take action on gun safety, and it is encouraging to see our relentless advocacy pay off,”Kelly said.
Ban on bump stocks
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks this summer, Michigan Democrats introduced legislation to ban such devices that enhance semi-automatic firearms to fire faster, effectively making them fully automatic.
The 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas where a gunman killed 60 people and injured hundreds of others at a concert prompted the federal ban as the gunman used bump stocks to inflict the most damage in 11 minutes, firing more than 1,000 bullets.
Senate Bill 942 which would ban bump stocks in Michigan made it through the Senate with a few Republicans supporting the bill, 23-12 and now will have to clear the state House.
The need for a ban on bump stocks is “life-or-death” for Michigan Sen. Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia) said in a news release this summer introducing the bill, adding that more and more states are taking up similar bans.
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