You see, it’s simple. Background checks save lives. They keep guns out of the hands of individuals who should not have them. They are widely supported across party lines, and they are good public policy to protect the health and safety of folks across our communities. I ask that my colleagues join me and the majority of Michiganders in supporting these bills today.
Senator Cherry’s statement is as follows:
In reference to Senate Bill No. 76, you do not need a license to carry a firearm. I will just read from the bill. There are folks who are exempted from having a license to purchase, carry, possess, use or transport a firearm and, specifically, if you purchase a firearm and received a background check, you are not required to have that license. So, there is no what-is-called registration requirement for these bills. I just want to make that clear for folks. I also wanted to make sure that it is clear that there also is an exemption in the safe storage bill for minors that are hunting, or shooting, or that are going about their employment and require the use of a gun, that you might need it in farming or what have you, so long as there is adult supervision associated with it. So I just want to make sure that it is clear that we are not impacting hunters and their ability to hunt in this bill package.
Senator Moss’ statement is as follows:
It’s worth repeating one last time. I joined a handful of colleagues to establish our gun violence prevention caucus in June 2016, and for nearly seven long years we put forward these solutions to mitigate these crises in our communities and reduce gun deaths and injuries. And in that time, from Pulse to Tree of Life, from Oxford to MSU, too many tragic mass shootings and everyday gun violence. The previous majority refused to even hold a hearing on our legislation. In many regards, the last majority headed in the wrong direction. I heard the previous speaker’s remarks about enforcing the laws we have, particularly regarding the shooting at MSU, and we can debate the policy merits of how the shooter was able to possess a firearm after previous charges, but the charge he had was for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. Republicans have been pushing to eliminate these permits altogether. If you had your way, there would be no laws to enforce at all. The only bill I can think of that moved in the last term in response to these shootings was a law to allow the licensing of a device to lock the classroom door during an active school shooting. What a sign from a failed Legislature to students all over our state. When they endure a school shooting, you gave them a product designed to lock their door but never a requirement to lock the gun. A failure in policy and priorities.
But our caucus still pushed, even when it wasn’t popular in this building. I have to acknowledge someone who persisted fearlessly and took so much heat from Republicans, from community members, and even from some Democrats—our gun violence prevention caucus founder, former State Representative Robert Wittenberg. He worked tirelessly on research and convened with groups all across the country. He took policy feedback from law enforcement; he met with the NRA and heard their concerns. He joined the Legislature’s Second Amendment caucus while convening meetings for our gun violence prevention caucus. He applied for a CPL and trained with a firearm. These bills were never against responsible gun owners. These bills are against gun violence. Thank you, Robert, for getting us here.
Now the bills in this package are some of the most popularly supported legislation we’ve introduced, including my bill in the package before us. We are ready to enact these laws that the public demands and safe communities require. Every Michigander deserves to live without fear. I urge a “yes” vote on the package.
The following bill was read a third time:
Senate Bill No. 77, entitled
A bill to amend 1931 PA 328, entitled “The Michigan penal code,” by amending sections 223 and 232a (MCL 750.223 and 750.232a), section 223 as amended by 2012 PA 242 and section 232a as amended by 1990 PA 321.
The question being on the passage of the bill,
The bill was passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, as follows: