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Michigan Moms, Everytown Speak Out Against S.B. 34, Urge Governor Snyder to Veto Dangerous Gun Legislation

2.26.2015

Lansing, MI – The Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today urged Governor Snyder to veto S.B. 34, a bill the Michigan House passed today that would strip Michigan law enforcement of the authority to deny concealed pistol licenses to dangerous people. The bill passed the Michigan Senate earlier this month, and it will now go to Governor Snyder’s desk.

“We believe in modernizing the system in place for obtaining a pistol license, but not at the cost of our state’s public safety,” said Kristen Moore, a volunteer with the Michigan Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “We urge Governor Snyder to veto S.B. 34 to preserve a tool for law enforcement to keep guns out of dangerous hands.”

Like the majority of states, Michigan currently authorizes law enforcement to deny a concealed pistol license to an applicant who poses a danger to himself or someone else—such as a person with a recent history of multiple arrests for violent crimes, like George Zimmerman. S.B. 34 would place Michigan among the minority of states that force law enforcement to allow people who they know have recent violent histories to carry hidden, loaded guns in public. Under this bill, law enforcement would be powerless to prevent people with repeated run-ins with police, who pose a clear threat—such as the Washington Navy Yard shooter before he shot and killed 12 people in 2013—from getting concealed pistol licenses and carrying hidden, loaded guns throughout the state.