By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Michigan gun control advocates and Democrats in the Legislature were howling victory as Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed new gun control legislation Thursday, only to have a legal challenge filed almost immediately by two state gun rights organizations.
According to WWMT News, Great Lakes Gun Rights and Michigan Open Carry jointly filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims. The groups are alleging Democrats controlling the House and Senate “suppressed speech” by not allowing them enough time to testify on the legislation, WMMT reported.
The Detroit News reported the lawsuit “alleges the chambers are suppressing speech and discriminating based on viewpoint in violation of the First and 14th amendments and the Michigan Open Meetings Act.”
Brenden Boudreau, a spokesman for the Great Lakes group, said in a statement, “For a political party so concerned with protecting democracy, the Democrat majorities ran roughshod over democracy when they effectively silenced one side of the gun control debate. This is a dangerous precedence to be set by either party, which is why we are challenging it.”
But Whitmer and her Democrat colleagues, and representatives from gun prohibition lobbying groups, are celebrating what they consider a significant victory.
According to WJRT News, the laws signed by Whitmer have these tenets:
- The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will distribute literature explaining the law, which will be required for posting by federally-licensed firearms dealers.
- Background checks are now required before any firearms transfer, also generically known as “universal background checks.”
- The “safe storage” requirement says anytime minors are present, firearms cannot be stored with ammunition. They must be secured inside a locked container (gun safe, gun locker, etc.) or have some sort of locking device.
It is not known whether any other legal action might be taken, but considering there are gun control bills popping up all over the country in Democrat-controlled states, it appears gun rights attorneys will be busy in the weeks and months ahead.
Critics are already saying none of the requirements signed into law by Whitmer would have prevented either the Michigan State University shooting earlier this year, or the Oxford High School shooting 18 months ago.
