LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Republican Party has announced it is against the gun reform bills that are being considered in both the state House and Senate.
Those pieces of potential legislation are House Bills 4138-4150 and Senate Bills 76-86, and officials in the Michigan GOP said the bills “all trespass on our Second Amendment rights and must be defeated in both chambers.“
“Even in the face of tragedy, we must find solutions that do not include suppressing our God-given rights to personal safety," said Kristina Karamo, the new chair of the Michigan GOP.
Republican members of the Michigan House and Senate argue that policies like red flag laws and safe storage requirements won’t protect residents.
“We have laws on the books against gun crime that were not followed. We can create 20,000 new laws and do political grandstanding, but it won’t change anything if we don’t enforce the laws we already have," said state Rep. Gina Johnson, who represents District 78.
The idea that these laws are an infringement on the Second Amendment is one with which state Sen. Rosemary Bayer simply disagrees.
“No, I don't think that it infringes on Second Amendment rights at all. It doesn't take anyone's guns away. It doesn't, it doesn't say anything about whether or not you can have a gun. It simply says if a minor gets a hold of your gun and shoots it and hurts themselves or someone else, then you're responsible," she said.
Karamo told reporters on Tuesday there are not any concessions or compromises they’d be willing to accept to support gun control measures.
"What that tells us is they do not care at all what the people in their districts tell them to do," said Bayer of her Republican counterparts. "They're paying absolutely no attention.”
Bayer says there are some Republican lawmakers who have demonstrated a willingness to work across the aisle. In the meantime, the package of bills will get a second hearing in the Senate later this week, and Bayer hopes to see Whitmer sign the package into law before the end of March.
