(WWJ) — On Feb. 13, the one-year anniversary of the Michigan State University campus shooting that claimed three students’ lives, a new set of gun reform laws will go into effect in Michigan.
After a legislative push for gun reform in the wake of the MSU shooting, the state will see new laws on safe storage, universal background checks, so-called “red flag” laws and restrictions for those convicted of domestic violence.
On this Daily J podcast, WWJ's Brian Fisher takes a look at what exactly is in the safe storage law, what it means for gun owners and how Michiganders feel about it.
Starting next Tuesday, the safe storage law will require people to keep any firearms being stored or left unattended on a premises unloaded and either locked with a trigger-locking mechanism or stored in a locked storage container.
The law goes onto Michigan’s books after at least four children in the state were killed in 2023 by unsecured guns. It also comes amidst the backdrop of an involuntary manslaughter conviction for Jennifer Crumbley this week, two years after her son used a weapon bought by his parents and kept in their home to kill four students at Oxford High School.
While lawmakers and gun advocates remain at odds over the package of gun reform laws, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said on this edition of the Daily J, “we have to, as a society, do something, because doing nothing is not the answer.”
Supporters of the safe storage law say it promotes “responsible gun ownership,” while opponents argue it is “reactive, not proactive.”
Specifically, Rick Ector, founder of Rick’s Firearm Academy of Detroit, believes the law says authorities are “waiting for something bad to happen,” as opposed to taking a proactive approach of teaching better gun responsibility.
As it pertains to the Crumbley parents’ trials, Sean Holihan believes if such a law had been in place prior to the Oxford killings, it may have prevented the mass shooting.
“The mother was charged with involuntary manslaughter. She wasn’t charged with improperly keeping a weapon in the home with a minor present. And that’s because that law wasn’t on the books,” he said. “I don’t want to punish parents who have done the right thing and the kid has figured out a way to access a safe, but there are ways for us to tell if someone has acted irresponsibly and that’s what we have a criminal justice system for.”
Holihan says one of the only ways to make sure people act responsibly is to enact a law setting consequences.
More information on Michigan’s new gun laws set to take effect next week can be found on the state’s website.
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