Today, starting at 3:00PM EST, the House Judiciary Committee will hold another hearing for three gun control bill packages corresponding with the bills in the Senate. Tomorrow, starting at 11:00AM EST, the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee will hear their three gun control bill packages. These criminalize private transfers, require firearms be made unavailable for self-defense, and allow Second Amendment rights to be suspended without due process.
It remains unclear if Second Amendment supporters will finally get a chance to express their views and testify against these bills. Last week, the committees suppressed opposition.
Please contact committee members and ask them to OPPOSE these gun control schemes.
Senate Bills 76, 77, and 78 and House Bills 4138, 4142, and 4143 further criminalize private transfers of firearms by expanding Michigan’s handgun permit-to-purchase system to all firearms. This adds rifle and shotgun transfers to the state registry. It also removes the pistol permit-to-purchase exemption for transfers conducted by licensed firearm dealers, who conduct instant federal background checks, meaning prospective handgun purchasers must apply for, and receive, a permit prior to being able to go to a gun store to take possession of a handgun.
Senate Bills 79, 80, 81, and 82 and House Bills 4144, 4139, 4141, and 4140 impose a mandatory storage scheme for firearm owners, not taking into account an individual’s particular situation. Those not storing firearms in compliance face prison time up to 15 years and fines up to $7,500, for unauthorized access by minors. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court held that storage provisions that prevent a law-abiding American from having ready access to a firearm for self-defense are unconstitutional.
Senate Bills 83, 84, 85, and 86 and House Bills 4145, 4146, 4148, and 4147 allow the seizure of an individual’s firearms on baseless accusations, without a hearing or other opportunity for the evidence to be heard in court. They permit the government to seize firearms based on weak and nebulous standards of evidence.
A person subject to a suspension of a Constitutional right should be entitled to high evidentiary standards, an opportunity to be heard, and the right to face his or her accusers. Civil liberties advocates from across the political spectrum have expressed concerns about these “red flag” bills and how the procedure might lead to abuses because of insufficient due process protections in the bills.
Again, please contact committee members and ask them to OPPOSE these gun control schemes.
