- Messages
- 1,058
Michigan task force recommends assault weapon ban, raising gun purchase age
www.mlive.com
Here’s a look at the recommendations, which were developed over the past year with input from a wide range of advocates.
Michigan task force recommends assault weapon ban, raising gun purchase age
The recommendations come ahead of the four-year anniversary of Oxford High School shooting that killed four students and injured seven.
Here’s a look at the recommendations, which were developed over the past year with input from a wide range of advocates.
- Requiring waiting periods for all firearm purchases. The task force does not give a recommended amount of time but Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) officials say this “cooling-off period” can prevent impulsive acts of gun violence and gives more time for background checks.
- Increasing the age of firearm purchase to 21. Residents 18 and older can currently purchase a handgun from a private seller and long guns from a private seller or licensed dealer. However, customers must be 21 or older to purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer.
- Close the concealed pistol license loophole. Currently, residents can purchase a firearm without a background check or permit through a CPL loophole, MDHHS officials say.
- Banning ghost guns. Ghost guns are untraceable firearms that don’t have serial numbers.
- Prohibit the possession of large capacity magazines. The task force did not define large capacity magazines. A defunct federal ban previously defined large capacity magazines as ones that could hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, but some states have put the limit at more than 15 or 20 rounds.
- Prohibit the sale, possession, manufacture or transfer of assault weapons. The task force did not define what constitutes an assault weapon. Usually these bans target semiautomatic rifles that have features like a pistol grip, barrel shroud, or a grip for the nontrigger hand, and can accept a detachable magazine.
- Ban automatic conversion devices. These are devices that convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic guns and are generally already illegal under state and federal law. However, one attachment called a bump stock remains legal and allows semiautomatic rifles to fire at a rate similar to machine guns.
- Prohibit carrying guns in government buildings.
- Strengthen existing school safety legislation.
- Standardize training for school resource officers and promote a single school safety tip line statewide.
- Support community violence intervention efforts.
- Educate the public on secure firearm storage and expand access to free gun locking devices. Michigan’s safe-storage law went into effect in February 2024. It requires guns be kept in an enclosed, locked container that minors do not have a key or combination to open.
- Create clear guidelines for firearm relinquishment. This would create a process for individuals prohibited from owning firearms to turn those guns in to law enforcement agencies.
- Remove barriers for filing Extreme Risk Protection Orders and Personal Protection Orders and improve enforcement of orders.
- Strengthen victim support services to address the harm of domestic violence.