Governor's Office
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrates after signing a package of gun-control bills on Thursday.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of gun-control bills on Thursday that were introduced after the mass shooting at Michigan State University left three students dead and five others injured in February.
The bills require background checks for all gun purchases and the safe storage of firearms.
“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, a Democrat, said. “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 added, “We will keep working together to prevent mass shootings, reduce gun violence, and save lives.”
Before the legislation was signed, Michigan law only required background checks for people buying guns from private sellers. Now, all firearm purchases must get a background check.
Another bill requires gun owners with children in the home to use a locking device or store their firearms in a locked container. If a child injures themselves or someone else with an unlocked firearm, the gun owner would face up to five years in prison on a felony charge.
“Every gun death is preventable, yet so many Michiganders, including me, have lost people they love to the senseless tragedy of gun violence,” Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II said. “Today, we are taking action on commonsense reforms supported by a majority of Michiganders. Universal background checks and safe storage laws will save lives and help keep families and kids safe at home, in the streets, at school, and at work.”
The bills mirror similar measures that Republicans have blocked over the past few years.
The latest legislation passed without Republican support.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, Democrats control the state House and Senate, allowing them to pursue legislation that Republicans have long resisted.
“The prevalence of gun violence is exhausting and frustrating, and for a very long time it felt like there was no hope for progress,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said. “But the thousands of Michigan voices calling for change never gave up, and today – in our first hundred days of the new majority – that call for change results in new laws that will make our state safer.”
Gun control advocates, law enforcement officials, and community and religious leaders applauded the legislation.
“For years citizens from across the country have been crying out for common sense gun laws mostly to no avail,” Barry Randolph, pastor of the Church of the Messiah Detroit. “Michigan will now lead the way with the signing of this bill. Michigan residents can now rest assured knowing that steps have been made to make our communities much safer! Parents, students, teachers, seniors, clergy, activists, and all Michigan residents now know that their pleas and cries for common sense gun laws have heard, validated, and acted upon!”
Celeste Kanpurwala, chapter leader for the Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action, said the state is leading the way in gun safety.
“These laws will save lives, and we couldn’t be more proud to work hand in hand with the gun sense champions in the statehouse and the governor’s mansion to get this legislation across the finish line,” Kanpurwala said. “Today, we celebrate this life-saving progress and recommit ourselves to the work to make Michigan safe for all of us.”
Democrats aren’t done yet. As early as Thursday, Democrats in the House are expected to vote on so-called “red flag” bills, which would allow a judge to order the confiscation of guns from people deemed dangerous.
A recent study of more than 6,700 red flag cases found that nearly 10% involved threats to kill at least three people.
Last year, Congress passed legislation to provide $750 million for state crisis intervention programs, including red flag laws.
“Michigan has not been spared from our nation’s plague of gun violence,” state Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac, said. “For years now, the legislature in Michigan has been paralyzed to act. No more.”
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