Yesterday, the Michigan House Adjourned Without Passing Multiple Critical Gun Violence Prevention Bills up for Floor Votes.
LANSING, Mich. — Today, the Michigan chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statements after the Michigan Senate passed critical violence prevention legislation on the last days of session. Legislation to facilitate Medicaid reimbursement for critical services provided by community violence intervention organizations (HB 6046), legislation to ensure crime guns and guns collected from buyback programs are destroyed. (HB 6144/ 6145/ 6146), and legislation to require secure firearm storage notifications in schools (HB 5450) will all now head to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s desk to be signed into law. Passage of these important bills comes after the Michigan House failed to pass critical gun violence prevention bills before adjourning the 2024 legislative session. With Michigan losing its gun sense trifecta in January, this lame-duck session was a crucial opportunity for lawmakers to take action on gun safety.
“The legislation passed today is a powerful reminder of the progress we can achieve with a strong gun sense majority,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “We are deeply grateful to the tireless and persistent leadership of Leader Brinks and her dedicated Senators, who remained in session for over 24 hours straight to ensure that critical legislation crossed the finish line. Michigan Senate lawmakers delivered on their responsibility to protect communities and answered the overwhelming call for action on gun violence. Their persistence and commitment to meaningful progress is truly inspiring. We’ll keep fighting to ensure every state follows Michigan’s lead in passing critical gun safety laws—and to hold those who turn their backs on public safety accountable.”
Yesterday, the Michigan House abruptly adjourned without bringing four critical gun violence prevention bills that were on the House floor up for a vote:
- Legislation to ban ghost guns (SB 1149/1150);
- Legislation to ban bump stocks (SB 942);
- Legislation banning guns in the capitol (SB 857/858), and
- Donna’s law, which would create a voluntary do-not-sell list (SB 1086).
After electing a gun-sense trifecta in 2022, legislators in Michigan took action to enact a comprehensive gun safety package that included multiple foundational gun safety policies, including an extreme risk law, secure storage requirements, a comprehensive background check system, and a bipartisan law to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. Just last month, Michigan lawmakers took action to address the growing threat of armed intimidation at the voting booth, passing a bill prohibiting the possession of firearms near polling locations and other electoral facilities. But, the other critical bills listed above were not included in this package. Ending this legislative session without bringing them up for a vote is a disappointing failure of leadership on the part of Michigan House lawmakers.
In Michigan, over 1,400 people are killed by firearms every year and nearly 3,000 more are wounded by guns. Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Michigan with an average of 115 children and teens dying by guns every year. More about gun violence in Michigan is available here.