Anti-firearm advocates in the Wolverine State successfully elected more gun control lawmakers, and elections absolutely have consequences. Several gun control bills have recently been passed and more are in the pipeline.
It is unquestioned that the measures will be signed if they reach Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) desk.
Bills already signed into law in 2023 include a new mandatory background check for all weapons purchases. Previously the state requirement was only for handguns, though some federal checks were still mandatory. “Pistol” was replaced with “firearm” in the new law.
Then there’s this year’s new “red flag” law, sometimes referred to as an “extreme risk protection order.” These orders may be requested by a family member, a law enforcement officer, medical provider, former spouse or partner, or someone who once dated or lived with the person.
And state gun owners now deal with a new storage law.
Legislation currently before the Michigan House includes a bill that would prevent any person convicted of domestic violence from possessing a firearm for eight years. This applies to misdemeanor cases and not just the much rarer felony convictions as the law currently states.
Understand, domestic violence is a bad thing and deserves punishment. The issue for critics of this law is the length of time a person loses their constitutional rights without being convicted of a felony. No one argues that those who perpetrate these acts should go unpunished, but the state will not stop there.
Instead, it will open a window for further gun restrictions for those charged and convicted of different misdemeanor offenses. The risk of a slippery slope is very real with gun control laws, which is why each must be carefully examined with many potential outcomes in mind.
Michigan may start with a class of people no one defends to strip away rights, but that is not where anti-gun lawmakers will stop.
