Michigan’s Republican-controlled Senate is expected to come one step closer to allowing concealed weapons to be carried inside schools, hospitals, churches and other restricted locations on Tuesday.
A Senate committee will likely approve new bills which will make the state’s ‘no-gun zones’ allow concealed weapons carried by those with a permit and eight hours of specialist training.
That could force state schools to allow access to the state’s 618,000 concealed carry permit owners while they’re armed, ABC News reported.
Michigan’s Republican-controlled Senate is expected to allow concealed weapons into the state’s ‘no-gun zones’ (pictured left: A sign in Traverse City, Michigan, forbidding weapons). It is being spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (right)
As well as those with the additional eight hours of training, gun instructors will also be allowed into the newly opened up zones.
Currently, laws forbid people from bringing concealed weapons into a number of locations, including school, churches, hospitals, arenas, taverns and daycare centers.
However the wording of the law does not explicitly stop people from openly carrying weapons into those locations.
That has led to a string of lawsuits, so the new bill is intended to effectively flip that rule – forbidding open-carry in the ‘no-gun zones’ but allowing, or even forcing, the entry of people with concealed weapons.
All public locations will be made to allow those with concealed weapon permits to enter while armed. That would include state-run schools and places of education.
On Tuesday, a committee at the Senate (pictured) is expected to approve bills that will stop open-carry in no-gun zones but enforce letting in concealed carriers
Meekhof said Sunday’s mass shooting at a Texas church (pictured) showed the need for guns. Senators may allow school districts to stop staff carrying, unlike in other public locations
However, senators may still vote to create an exception that lets school districts choose to stop teachers and other staff from bringing weapons into schools.
Should it pass the committee, it will go to the Republican-led state Senate for vote as soon as Wednesday.
Private locations that are currently covered by the concealed-carry restrictions will be allowed to choose whether to allow weapons inside.
Under current laws, places of worship can still choose to allow people with concealed weapons to enter.
‘Anybody who wants to exercise their right to protect themselves and have a firearm should be able to do that where they need to,’ said Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof of West Olive, who is a sponsor of the main measure.
He said that gun-free zones are a ‘target-rich environment’ and that the mass shooting in Texas on Sunday, which saw 26 people gunned down in a church outside San Antonio, only reinforced his point.
Protester Emily Durbin (pictured) says there’s no proof that it would help reduce risk of shooting sprees. She also accused Meekhof of exploiting the Texas spree politically
In that incident the shooter was shot twice as he exited the church by a local firearms instructor, although the killer died when he shot himself in the head during a police chase.
Psychologist Emily Durbin, who leads the Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, said that there is no evidence that more people being armed would make schools safer.
She also said that allowing guns into areas in which people are drinking, such as taverns and arenas, was likely to lead to further violence.
Durbin accused Meekhof of finding the ‘right tragedy he can exploit to push some dangerous bills that completely upend and gut long-standing public safety protections.’
She added: ‘We want to keep citizen spaces free of guns.’
In 2012, Republican Governor Rick Snyder vetoed similar legislation, saying he was worried it wouldn’t let public schools, day care facilities and hospitals choose to restrict firearms.
The Senate plans to vote on the measures on Wednesday. Private no-gun zones will still be allowed to decide whether or not concealed carry permit holders can take firearms inside