LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Armed with two handguns and dozens of rounds of ammunition, 43-year-old Anthony McRae open fired on the Michigan State University campus on the night of Feb. 13, killing three students and wounding five more.
The mass shooting has pushed Michigan Democrats, who had already planned to prioritize changes to gun laws, into action.
Democrats are expected to bring a sweeping 11-bill gun safety package before the Michigan Legislature this week, emboldened by their sweeping victories in statewide elections in November that gave them legislative control. Responding to two mass school shootings in 15 months, the party’s leaders say it is only the beginning of gun reform in the state.
“Nothing is off the table,” said Democratic state Sen. Rosemary Bayer, who leads the firearm safety caucus. “But every state has a culture. So I think we’re trying to be conscious of Michigan and how we do things.”
The package aims to establish safe storage laws, universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders, also known as red flag laws. Lawmakers will consider the package less than three years after protesters armed with guns entered the statehouse.
“Tyrannical government, like we’re witnessing here today, is why the Second Amendment is here in the first place,” Republican Rep. Angela Rigas said on the House floor prior to Democrats voting to approve universal background checks last week.
The bills were introduced in the days following the shooting at Michigan State University. Students across the vast campus were ordered to shelter in place for four hours while police hunted for McRae who — when confronted by police — killed himself near his Lansing home.
Students killed in the shooting were Arielle Anderson, 19; Brian Fraser, 20; and Alexandria Verner, 20, all of suburban Detroit.
Much of the package was crafted by Democrats nearly 15 months…
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