New Michigan gun laws take effect this week [View all]

(Detroit Free Press) When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law gun safety measures following the shooting at Michigan State University last year, many gun safety advocates applauded the passage of proposals that previously stalled under Republican leadership. But those celebrations occurred against a backdrop of urgent calls for more.

Before the MSU shooting, Whitmer called on lawmakers to send legislation her way to enact background checks for all gun purchases, firearm storage requirements to keep guns out of the hands of children and a red flag law allowing courts to order the temporary removal of guns from those who pose an imminent risk to themselves or others.

Two months after the MSU shooting, Whitmer signed into law the universal background checks and safe storage requirements. And about a month after that, she approved legislation to temporarily take away guns from those at risk of endangering themselves or others, marking the culmination of her call for the trio of gun safety measures. Those new laws take effect this week.

Tijuana Morris, a 68-year-old retired police officer from Detroit, was among the gun safety advocates who stood behind Whitmer and lawmakers at the red flag law bill signing ceremony last year, holding a sign that said "BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS NOW!" She welcomed the new gun safety laws while expressing hope for additional action. "This is just the beginning," she told the Free Press at the time. ................(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/12/michigan-new-gun-safety-laws/72494522007/