LANSING, Mich. -- While students and others were holding protest rallies in Lansing on President's Day, a Second Amendment advocacy group was promising to push for the recall of politicians who vote for gun-control legislation.
The Great Lakes Gun Rights group noted that Democrats in the Michigan Legislature have introduced bills calling for universal background checks, Red Flag measures and mandatory storage laws. The Feb. 13 shooting spree at Michigan State University is giving proponents of those measures momentum and hope that they can get the new laws passed.
"Red Flag gun confiscation orders allow an old roommate, ex-spouse, ex-girlfriend, or ex-boyfriend to file for an order against someone with very little evidence, and strip someone of their rights without due process," Brenden Boudreau said. He is the Executive Director for Great Lakes Gun Rights.
Boudreau added, "The so-called ‘universal background checks’ bills are de facto universal gun registration and will make it illegal to loan a close relative or friend a shotgun for hunting. Finally, the storage laws disarm law-abiding Michiganders in their own homes and are probably already unconstitutional under the Heller decision."
Michigan State University students returned to the classroom today following the mass shooting a week ago today that claimed the lives of three students and injured five others. Two remain in critical condition. March for Our Lives and members of the Michigan State Board of Education protested outside the state House, demanding legislation to end gun violence. MSU students and students from Oxford High School participated, as well.
Madeline Johnson, a student says lawmakers should wake up and take action on gun reform.
"As college and high school students, we should be worried about writing essays, not eulogies," Johnson said at the late-morning rally. "What more do you want from us? When is it going to be enough?"
State Representative Brenda Carter also addressed the crowd.
"The only thing that's more painful than hearing that your child has been gunned down, is having to live it every single day. The trauma doesn't end at the cemetery. It's with you. It never disappears."
Carter said she lost her only son, and her nephew to gun violence in Grand Rapids.
"So, you know how important it is for us to pass sensible gun reform now," she said.
But Boudreau says it may get out of hand, based on current proposals being introduced in the Michigan Legislature.
“Michigan Democrats are charging ahead with anti-gun proposals that would make California blush. We urge Michigan Democrats to drop their politically motivated gun control push and for Republicans to oppose all these bills. If they do not relent, we’re preparing to work with local activists and voters in districts across the state to recall any lawmaker who votes for these gun control bills.”
The Great Lakes Gun Rights group said recall election mostly likely would take place in the summer. It adds that Chapter 18 of the Michigan Election Law lays out the groundwork for a recall process to take place.
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