Michigan House OKs bills banning guns at polling places, providing more education on safe storage

BY KYLE DAVIDSON, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—In party-line votes Wednesday, Michigan House Democrats concurred with the Senate on the final versions of two bills banning firearms from polling places. The legislation will now head to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk.

Introduced by state Reps. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) and Stephanie Young (D-Detroit), House Bills 4127 and 4128 bar a person from having a firearm in a polling place, early voting site and within 100 feet of the entrance to these facilities.

The bills also prohibit individuals from carrying a firearm within 100 feet of an absentee voter drop in the 40 days leading up to any election. It also bans guns in city or township clerk’s offices or satellite offices and in the 100 feet of their entrance in the 40 days before elections where absentee voters can cast their ballot with the clerk.

However, this ban does not apply to peace officers, individuals carrying a concealed pistol who have their concealed pistol license, people who are lawfully transporting a firearm in their vehicle and individuals who possess a firearm in their residence or private property alongside other individuals with permission to carry a firearm in another person’s residence or private property.

Those who violate the law could face up to 90 days in prison and/or a fine of up to $100.

“This legislation reflects our commitment to safeguarding Michigan’s democratic process by ensuring every voter, election worker and official can participate without fear or intimidation,” Young said in a statement.

“These bills address the critical need for safe spaces around voting and absentee counting locations, reinforcing that threats and violence have no place in our electoral system. Protecting the right to vote and the people who make our elections possible is essential for a resilient and secure democracy,” Young said.

Whitmer has signed several gun reforms this term, including a “red flag” law, requirements for safe storage of guns and ammunition, background checks for purchasing guns and more regulations for domestic abusers seeking to purchase guns.

Alongside Young’s and Tsernoglou’s bills, the House also voted to advance on two policies from Reps. Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy) and Julie Brixie (D-Meridian Twp.) requiring schools to partner with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to distribute information on the best practices for storing firearms, the requirement of Michigan’s safe storage law, and where individuals can purchase gun safes and locks.

MacDonell and Brixie’s House Bills 5450 and 5451 similarly passed along party lines. The bills now go to the Democratic-led Senate.

“Education is key to preventing gun violence,” Brixie said in a statement. “By providing this information to students’ parents and guardians, we are taking concrete steps to ensure firearms are safely and properly stored to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands and tragedies from occurring. It’s on all of us to help prevent gun violence.”

End Gun Violence Michigan issued a statement Wednesday evening, cheering the movement of both packages.

“We applaud our leaders in Lansing who are using the short time they have left in this term to pass legislation that will protect our democracy,” End Gun Violence Michigan Executive Director Ryan Bates said in a statement. “We must ensure that the threat of violence is never used to intimidate voters or election workers. These new measures guarantee that our elections will be settled with argument and debate, not threats of violence.”

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.