Michigan Democrats move to expedite new gun laws after MSU shooting
Brady Knox
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Michigan Democrats are looking to expedite new gun control laws after the mass shooting at Michigan State University.
Democrats won the two state legislatures in the 2022 midterm elections, giving them control of the three major seats of power in the state. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) won reelection as well.
The party now has the opportunity to push through gun control legislation that has been stonewalled by hesitant Republicans. Monday’s mass shooting at Michigan State University gives them an opportunity to hurry the legislation through the legislature.
“We’re going to try to move faster. After years of not getting an inch, now we’re making real plans,” Democratic state Sen. Rosemary Bayer told Politico.
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“Some of the legislation we have goes back 10 years,” she added. “We just haven’t been able to get any traction to do anything.”
She went on to give a schedule of the new legislation, but she said the party should act earlier.
“We had a schedule that we’re trying to move up even more. We were targeting right after the first week of April, that’s what we were planning for, but we want to respond quicker,” Bayer said.
“One of the models we’ve seen in these horrible tragedies is that we need to act quickly. Even in Florida, they were able to get it done in a red legislature,” Democratic state Sen. Darrin Camilleri said, echoing Bayer’s comments. “I think we can do that with a Democratic trifecta. There are conversations we’re having as soon as today to figure out timelines to expedite this process.”
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Well before the shooting, Whitmer announced her intentions to prioritize gun control legislation in her State of the State address last month.
“Despite pleas from Oxford families, these issues never even got a hearing in the legislature,” the governor said, referencing the families of victims of a high school mass shooting. “This year, let’s change that and work together to stop the violence and save lives.”