Michigan is considering new legislation to severely punish those who don’t secure their firearms. Bills SB550, SB551, SB552, and SB553 are co-authored by state Sens. Bayer, McMorrow, Irwin, Geiss, Moss, Wojno, Hertel, Bullock, Change, and Polehanki.
“If your kid finds the gun and takes it to school and shows everybody, that’s a misdemeanor,” Senator Rosemary Bayer (D) said, “If they use that firearm and cause harm to themselves or anyone else, that’s a felony.”
In November 2021, sophomore Ethan Crumbley, allegedly, perpetrated the shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. Four students were killed and seven other people were injured. Crumbley’s parents were both charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter for failure to properly secure firearms in their home.
Although these bills were filed the summer before the Oxford shooting, that event is certainly informing the legislative process.
Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence claims shooters finding a gun at home isn’t unusual. “80% of school shooters get their firearms from the home. It’s really time for Michigan to join the other states that are doing this and make all gun owners realize this is an earnest responsibility that they must take seriously.”
SEE ALSO: Wisconsin Schools Could Offer Gun Safety Class Under Proposed Bill
Only Massachusetts required guns to be stored in a locked place. Other states have varying degrees of regulations.
“I’m ever hopeful; I’m very optimistic,” Senator Bayer, said, “It’s been a challenge, I’ll say that.” She went on, “This doesn’t have to be a partisan issue. There are evidence-based approaches to save lives.”
One of those approaches is that of education coupled with hardware adopted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Their Project Child S.A.F.E. is the largest firearm safety project in the US.
The Project Child S.A.F.E. website says, “It was developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, and is committed to promoting genuine firearms safety through the distribution of safety education messages and free firearm Safety Kits.”
Their kits are sent out free of charge and are available in both English and Spanish. They have distributed more than 37 million kits.
Every new gun sold in the U.S. includes a safety lock. The NSSF emphasizes that while securing a gun with a chamber lock is a responsible step, it’s not enough. The website projectchildsafe.org is full of ideas for discussing guns with children and demystifying them.
Legislation like that being proposed in Michigan will punish those whose firearms are used in violence if they didn’t secure their firearms. Education like that provided by the NSSF can help prevent the misuse of firearms.
Does include the police, their sidearm and shotgun unloaded and kept in the trunk of the the car.
My late Father was an LEO in the 1970’s . Per his
occupation , it as required that he kept loaded
firearms at his disposal , at ALL times .
There were several throughout our home , as I grew
up and it was made VERY clear to me , as a young
man , that one DID NOT tamper with them , PERIOD !
If I wanted to view , inspect or handle them , it was
required to approach my Father, so that he could
“ clear “ them , as well as demonstrate the process
of doing the same to me .
Firearm safety was paramount in our home ,
NO OTHER WAY , was tolerable .
I will not go into the penalties of not following those
directives , as readers , I am certain your imaginations
will certainly be descriptive enough .
The point is ;respect of my Father , firearm safety , the
Rule of Law , the Rights of others and civil society , were
inculcated to me at a young age . There were no exceptions
to this , it was expected of me . Those things seem to be
lacking today , and not for the better .
At the risk of sounding like a “ Grandpa “ , maybe some good
‘Ole ass-bustin’ might be called for .
‘ Worked for me , and the effects seemed to have been positive .
wow time for parents to teach there KIDS better..NO EXCUSES..but parent cnt spank thier kids so hmmm maybe thats the problem.BUT i grew up was loaded weapons in my house..my son grew up with loaded weapons in the house..guess what nothing ever happened..[i dont spank,but if need well,but my kids did not need.]TIME to teach RESPECT,HONOR AND GUN SAFETY.heck back in mid 80s we was allowed to bring our hunting rifles to school,even on bus..so think whats changed???????that is the problem
It boils down ultimately to EDUCATION: kids need to be instructed on the proper and safe handling of firearms. This used to be done by scouting programs, parents, even schools. Mandatory storage has many pitfalls, including technology failures (eg: every biometric safe I have owned has failed in one way or another) and time delays in getting your weapon during an emergency.