(WWJ) After videos made headlines across the country with armed protesters strolling the streets, state Senators Rosemary Bayer and Dayna Polehanki say the guns need to go from the Michigan Capitol for safety reasons.
Bayer says most people who bring a weapon into the capitol want to intimidate local officials.
The legislations would ban anyone from carrying a firearm openly or concealed in the state building. Guns have been allowed in Michigan's Capitol, but aren't allowed from Federal buildings. This comes after local protesters gathered and walked into the capitol to demand the state of emergency to be lifted earlier this year.
The bills would have to pass the House and the Senate and be signed by the governor to become law.
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“The only reason most people bring firearms into the Capitol is to intimidate and that is not how the state’s Capitol — the people’s house — is designed to work, nor should it continue to be permissible,” Sen. Bayer said. “These bills do not impede on responsible gun owners from exercising their rights outside on the Capitol lawn, but rather would ensure the Capitol building remains a safe and respectful working environment inside for all legislators, staff, and visitors.”The legislation comes on the heels of the Michigan Capitol Commission’s continued refusal to prohibit guns on Capitol grounds after months of meetings, powerful testimony, and gathering expert, legal opinions on the matter.“Earlier this year, I took a photo of armed men in the gallery above us that made international news, and people from all over the world wrote to me expressing their concern,” Sen. Polehanki said. “We should not normalize what happened that day. I, and many others, feared for our lives and our voices. In the absence of any action at all from the Capitol Commission, we are offering this legislation to do what they continue to drag their feet on: Protect the people who come and go from the Capitol Building before something truly terrible, and tragic, happens.”Firearms have long been allowed in Michigan’s State Capitol but are not allowed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and many other state Capitol buildings around the country.