Michigan Senate Bill 59 (Schools & Guns Legislation)

FIGHTING GUN VIOLENCE

Some fear bill on Snyder’s desk could put public schools at risk

By Elisha Anderson and Paul Egan Free Press Staff Writers

   A Michigan bill on the desk of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has an apparent loophole preventing public schools from stopping licensed gun holders with advanced training from carrying weapons on school property.

   The issue comes in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Connecticut that has politicians, community leaders and religious officials re-examining gun laws.

   The Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature passed Senate Bill 59 late Thursday during a lame-duck session, the day before the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

   “There’s some concern about the clarity on what would or wouldn’t be permitted,” said Snyder’s spokeswoman, Sara Wurfel.

   Wurfel said the governor will decide within the week whether to sign the bill.

   Meanwhile, many community and religious leaders are sounding off about their views on gun legislation, with some calling for change to national laws to prevent certain types of weapons from being sold legally.

   It comes during the same time several metro Detroit gun store owners say they are seeing high numbers of people, who fear some guns may soon become illegal, buying guns, including semiautomatic weapons.

   “ ‘Get it now, they can’t take it away later,’ ” is the thought of some of some of Tony Tankersley’s customers, he said. Tankersley, the co-owner of SP Guns-N-Ammo in Southgate, said his customers expect to be grandfathered in if they already own the weapons and the law changes.

   Voicing their concerns

   The bill passed in Michigan was intended to clarify that open carry of guns is not permitted on school properties, while allowing people with concealed pistol licenses and advanced training to carry concealed weapons in places where they normally couldn’t, such as schools and public arenas.

   It also was intended to include opt-out provisions for schools and other protected places that don’t want any guns — concealed or otherwise — on their premises, but that isn’t stated clearly.

   The lack of a clear opt-out for schools and other public facilities is among Snyder’s concerns, Wurfel said.

   The bill says a private property owner may prohibit an individual from carrying a pistol, concealed or otherwise, on premises including schools, bars, sports arenas and public or private day care centers.

   But public schools don’t have private property owners, so public schools arguably would not be able to use the wording in the legislation to prevent someone with a handgun-carry permit and advanced training from carrying a weapon on school property.

   House Republicans believe public schools and others still could ban concealed weapons under the state trespass law, despite the lack of an explicit opt-out in SB 59, said Ari Adler, a spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall.

   But Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer said the issue demonstrates that the GOP majority rushed through too many bills too quickly.

   “It’s very clear that the Republicans, in their zest for their ideological goals, went so fast that they made a lot of mistakes,” Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said Monday.

   “They simply cut out public debate and their legislation lacks because of it. They really made huge errors.”

   The Religious Leaders Forum of Metropolitan Detroit sent a letter to Snyder on Monday stating its opposition to the bill, while another group of religious leaders in Michigan plans to meet in Lansing today to urge Snyder to veto it.

   Members of Michigan Prophetic Voices and Metro Coalition of Congregations plan to hold a prayer vigil outside of the governor’s office at 4 p.m. today . Snyder has asked his staff to look at mental health and school security issues in scrutinizing the bill, his spokeswoman said.

   Taking action

   Meanwhile, another group that is calling on legislators to tighten restrictions on what kind of guns can be purchased and who can purchase them plans to go Washington, D.C., today.

   Officials with the Michigan chapter of the National Action Network said Monday that they expect about 50 people from Detroit, Flint, Saginaw and Inkster to board a bus in downtown Detroit at 6 tonight and take their message to lawmakers.

   “We are coming together to let our elected officials know that enough is enough,” said the Rev. Charles Williams II, pastorat King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit and president of the National Action Network Michigan. “It’s time to ban assault weapons, and it’s time to crack down on gun control in America.”

   The primary weapon used in the school shootings was a semiautomatic rifle.

   Williams was part of a group gathered outside Action Impact, a gun store and gun range, in Southfield on Monday to hold a prayer vigil sparked by the victims killed last week.

   “I want people to know nobody needs an assault weapon if they’re not a soldier,” said Althea Long, 59, of Detroit, who plans to travel to Washington with the group.

   The store’s owner, Bill Kucyk, called a ban an “emotional reaction.”

   “It falls in line with America’s need for a quick fix,” Kucyk said. “It’s not the best fix, and it will only temporarily make you feel better.”

   Kucyk, a retired police officer and Army veteran, said he thinks people are blaming an object and the goal should be tosolve the problem.

   “We have to analyze what is our best way to solve these horrendous shootings of defenseless people,” he said.

   Some ideas, he said, include taking a look at physical security and unauthorized access, but said that isn’t 100% effective.

   “I believe when you’re facing evil, you’ve got to face evil with force,” he said.

   The shootings have restarted the debate about gun control among politicians, and President Barack Obama has called for “meaningful action” to prevent killings.

   In wake of possible law changes, some store owners like Kucyk and Tankersley said they saw sales soar Monday.

   Tankersley said hundreds of people have been in over the past few days.

   He estimated they sold about 50 to 60 guns over the last few days, compared with about 10 sold on a normal day.

   Tankersley attributed many of those sales to worry that some types may be impacted by new laws. He said he thinks if there is a ban, it would start with high-capacity magazines — like magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

   “The phones are ringing off the hook,” Tankersley said.

   Many of the guns that people are interested in hold high-capacity magazines, he said.

   George Israel, manager of Brown Bear Sporting Goods and Shooting Range in Chesterfield Township, said he doesn’t believe more gun control is the solution and said other objects, like cars turned into bombs, have been used by people who want to do violent acts. The core problems need attacking, not the symptoms, he said.

   “Nobody likes to see violence,” he said.

   • CONTACT ELISHA ANDERSON: 313-222-5144 OR EANDERSON99@FREEPRESS.COM  

ROMAIN BLANQUART//DETROIT FREE PRESS

   Outside the Action Impact gun shop in Southfield, the Rev. Charles Williams II, third from left, leads a group praying for the victims of gun violence Monday. “Enough is enough,” he said. “It’s time to ban assault weapons.”

ROMAIN BLANQUART/DETROIT FREE PRESS

   This Bushmaster .223 semiautomatic rifle is similar to one used in the Newtown, Conn., killings Friday.

Bill Kucyk, owner of Action Impact gun shop in Southfield, says people are focusing on a quick fix, not real solutions.