Republicans in the State of Michigan may be preparing to fold on a red flag law proposal from Democrats in the coming weeks, only time will tell if that’s what is really happening but today’s news is nothing to get excited over.
A group of bills is set to be introduced to the Michigan Senate by Democrats that are all aimed at further firearm regulation. This group of bills will be the first set of firearm regulations to receive a hearing in this legislative session. Among other things, this legislation is taking a primary focus on Red Flag Laws.
As reported by Michigan Live:
A bill package set to be introduced by Senate Democrats aimed at getting guns out of the hands of individuals who may be a danger to themselves and others will likely be the first set of gun regulation measures to receive a legislative hearing this session.
The so-called ‘red flag’ bills that have been introduced by Democratic lawmakers in previous sessions will be reintroduced as Senate Bills 856, 857 and 858. The bills have not been formally introduced yet by their sponsors, Sens. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills, Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, and Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak.
The legislation would allow a judge to issue an extreme risk protection order after a court considers evidence in support of the request. Once an order is issued, law enforcement could take temporary possession of an individual’s firearms, and ban them from purchasing new firearms while the order remains in effect.
“Extreme risk protection orders save lives by allowing family members and law enforcement to act before warning signs escalate into tragedies, like the one we recently saw happen at Oxford High School in my district on November 30th last year,” Bayer said in a statement. “Michigan needs red flag laws on the books to not only help us prevent the next school shooting, but so that we can also help protect our loved ones in their darkest hour.”
How do Republicans come into this?
Republican leadership promised Democrats several years ago that they would allow red flag legislation to be heard on the floor. Republican leadership is allegedly just honoring a promise they made years ago but some are not so sure about the arrangement. Many believe that the Republicans in Michigan are throwing in the towel and are going to let this legislation slide through while the country is focused on other issues.
According to Democrat Senator Rosemary Bayer, “we(Senator Bayer and Republican Majority Leader Mike Shirkey) did have a good discussion, I certainly did not get everything I asked for but we are going to have a hearing on the red flag bills.” Other Democrats have also come out to say that this deal is long overdue and that this is the right time to pass gun control legislation.
Only time can tell us if Republicans are planning to fold on Red Flag Laws. The hearing is going to be sometime in the next months at the time of writing this, so that is going to be when we know what’s really going on in the midwest.
