LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After two weeks of a legislative spring break, the Michigan House and Senate will return this week and likely consider legislation expanding restrictions to firearm ownership and use. 

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Before the break, legislators held multiple committee meetings to hear testimony regarding new legislation pertaining to safe storage, universal background checks and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs).  

At a recent House Judiciary committee meeting, one of the bill package sponsors, Representative Felicia Brabec (D-Ann Arbor) responded to criticism that the bills won’t solve the concerns advocates have regarding gun violence. 

“One of the things that is challenging with any of the laws we create, is of course there is going to be different circumstances that might call for different things,” Rep. Brabec said, “One of the things I believe that we have to focus on is what is going to do the most good for the most folks and that is this package of bills.” 

A representative from the Brady Campaign testified against one of the concerns that representatives and other opponents of the bills have, that the bills don’t primarily seek to punish or prosecute people, particularly laws regarding safe storage. 

“The goal here really is to effectuate behavioral change,” Senior Counsel of Public Policy with Brady, Tanya Schardt said, “It’s imperative that we start treating safely storing a firearm the same way we treat wearing a seat belt, keeping your child away from harmful medications and house cleaning products.” 

Representative Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) recently introduced legislation that would protect businesses, which he worried would be the recipients of discriminatory practices, after recent gun legislation passed in the house ahead of the legislative spring break. 

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On Monday, March 27 a private Christian elementary school in Tennessee suffered a tragedy when a woman killed three students and three adult staff members according to authorities, prompting a response from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.  

“All the hard days that we have to navigate, nothing even comes close to trying to console a parent whose child has been murdered in a mass shooting, or frankly, the gun violence that plays out across this country every single day,” Whitmer said in a recent interview. “And so, my heart goes out to the families that lost their children today and the community that is going to be grappling with this stress and the aftermath of it.”

Gov. Whitmer also praised the package of bills moving through the legislature that included major gun reforms. 

“This is precisely why it’s important that we in Michigan do what we can to keep people safe through background checks, secure storage, and ultimately, extreme risk protection orders,” Whitmer said. “These are the things that, steps that, we can take, we are poised to take them and we will make a meaningful difference in mitigating the likelihood that this will happen again. But, this is a uniquely American problem and sadly we see it play out every day, lives lost. My heart goes out to those families.”

Just before Valentine’s Day, Michigan State University suffered its own school shooting after a 43 year old Anthony McRae gained access to MSU buildings and killed three students. Since then MSU has taken steps to close buildings in the evening barring anyone without school IDs and other security measures to make the university safer.