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 statement after the Michigan Senate voted to pass two critical gun violence prevention bills. Legislation to ban ghost guns (SB 1149/1150) and bump stocks (SB 942) now heads to the House to be considered. Legislation to require secure firearm storage notifications (HB 5450), legislation to hold the gun industry accountable for its role in the gun violence epidemic and to empower gun violence victims (HB 6183/6184/6185), and legislation to sustain funding for critical community violence intervention organizations (HB 6046) also await votes in these final days of the 2024 session.
“Gun violence continues to devastate families and communities across Michigan, and it takes a full policy toolkit to combat gun violence for the epidemic that it is,” said Kazia Kelly, lead of the Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action, gun owner, and gun violence survivor. “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. There are still critical votes on gun violence that lawmakers need to take before the end of session to ensure a safer state for all Michiganders. We will continue to advocate for gun safety legislation with lawmakers, encouraging them to cement their legacy as those who were bold against the gun lobby and gun violence epidemic.”
In Michigan, over 1,400 people are killed by firearms every year–with the majority of those deaths being firearm suicides. More about gun violence in Michigan is available here.
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.