GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As we remember the tragedy on Michigan State University's campus that happened exactly one year ago Tuesday, we also look to the future by starting a new chapter in Michigan's fight against gun violence.
In response the state's two mass shootings in a 15-month span (Oxford High School, MSU), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Democratic-led legislature signed several gun reform bills in law. On Tuesday, those laws take effect.
“They're narrowly tailored, if you will, to address very specific problems," said Pat Miles, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. "Problems that we have experienced, problems that we've seen repeatedly over the last few decades.”
The laws revolve around four main ideas: Universal Background Checks, Safe Storage Requirements, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (Red Flag Laws) and Limits on Domestic Abusers.
FOX 17 breaks them down below:
UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
Background checks, at a basic level, are nothing new to Michigan. Such checks have already been required for handgun purchases. Under this new law, background checks have now been extended to all firearms, including long guns.
Anyone buying any type of gun must first obtain a license or go through a national federal instant background check to purchase a firearm.
This is spelled out in Public Acts No. 18, No. 19 and No. 22.
Background checks look for previous felony convictions, commitments to mental institutions, a history of domestic violence and/or other concerning details about a prospective buyer's past.
According to Miles, these are "common sense, minimal restrictions on gun ownership. In fact, they're really not even a restriction as much as they are just a step in a process towards getting a firearm.”
SAFE STORAGE REQUIREMENTS
Public Act No. 15, No. 16 and No. 17 were adopted to protect Michigan families, especially children, from the dangers of violence.
It "requires individuals to keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises," according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. That means, even if you're on someone else's property, if a child is present, your unattended gun must be locked away.
This applies to any firearm purchased before or after Feb. 13, and aims to address an issue that isn't unique to Michigan.
In fact, healthychildren.org said 4.6 million kids live in homes with unlocked, loaded guns.
“When gun violence is the leading cause of death among children, then we've got a problem," Miles said. "So this legislation is an effort to fix that problem.”
Watch our full interview below with Miles.
While lawmakers hope this change will inspire gun owners to take the necessary steps toward preventing a tragedy, it really makes a difference on the back end during prosecution.
According to a summary of the safe storage laws by Michigan's House Fiscal Agency, here are the potential penalties for a violation:
• If the minor possesses or exhibits the firearm in a public place or possesses or exhibits the firearm in the presence of another person in a careless, reckless, or threatening manner: a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 93 days or a fine of up to $500, or both
• If the minor discharges the firearm and injures themselves or another individual: a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
• If the minor discharges the firearm and inflicts serious impairment of a body function on themselves or another individual: a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to $7,500, or both.
• If the minor discharges the firearm and inflicts death on themselves or another individual: a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years or a fine of up to $10,000, or both. The criminal penalties could be imposed in addition to any penalty that may be imposed for any other criminal offense arising from the same conduct.
EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS
Perhaps the most controversial piece of legislation deals with Extreme Risk Protection Orders, commonly referred to as 'Red Flag Laws.'
Public Acts No. 37 and No. 38 aim to take guns out of the hands of people who might be at risk of harming themselves or others. Michigan was the 21st state in the country to enact such laws.
Essentially, a judge can enforce an order if someone is unfit to purchase or possess a firearm. That determination would be based on the petition process through evidence provided by law enforcement agencies, medical and mental health care providers, family members, legal guardians, former spouses, dating partners or previous house/roommates.
If the judge deems the matter an emergency, firearms can be removed from the respondent immediately. In most other cases, the judge will notify the respondent of the petition ahead of a hearing process.
As Miles explains, a single example of a mental health episode will likely not lead to an ERPO:
“If there is a history of violence, a history of personal protection orders being taken out that go back several months or years, then that is certainly gonna be taken into account versus somebody who's never had a history of violence," he said.
Miles called ERPO's procedural guard rails, ones that Clinical Psychologist Susan Silk, PhD, from Southfield, Michigan, said could've prevented the unfortunate tragedies that led to this law.
"Those four kids in Oxford, and those three kids at MSU, probably would be alive today if somebody had activated a red flag," she said, "but it doesn't address the larger mental health issue.”
Watch our full interview below with Silk.
The challenge, Silk admitted, is balancing people's civil rights while also protecting the public.
“I would be willing to bet my — anything — that there are no active shooter instances where there were lots and lots and lots of warning signs," she said. "The reverse, however, is not true. That's what makes it so difficult. Lots of people make threats, lots of people exhibit warning signs who never act on them.”
ERPO's, when issued, are not permanent. Instead, they expire one year after the application date.
LIMITS ON DOMESTIC ABUSERS
Public Act No. 200 prevents convicted domestic violence abusers from purchasing or owning guns and ammo for eight years.
Public Acts No. 199 and No. 201 take it even further by forbidding those convicted of misdemeanors involving domestic violence from using or owning guns and ammo, and clarify what domestic violence actions constitute disqualification from owning guns.
You can read more from our FOX 17 coverage when these domestic violence-related laws were signed into law in Nov. 2023.
