A group of gun control advocates was at the state Capitol to lobby against a proposal to allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit.
About 75 members of the group Moms Demand Action showed up to urge lawmakers to reject a bill that would relax concealed gun rules. Right now, the state requires a clean criminal record and a safety course. This new bill would allow anyone 21 years or older who’s not barred from owning a firearm to conceal a gun under their clothes or in a vehicle.
“Anybody could carry a concealed weapon in public, possibly without any training at all,” says Kristen Moore. “(The current system) is really just a common sense safety measure that people should become familiar on gun law, where it’s legal to carry, how to safely handle a gun. This is really just common sense.”
The bill’s Republican sponsor says the Second Amendment does not require training to carry a firearm.
“The only thing we have left is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, when everything’s covered up with dust, and dirt, and soil,” says state Representative Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township. “Give back to people what they had – a constitutional right to carry, without restrictions, without amendments.”
Michigan already allows people who are not legally barred from owning a gun to openly carry a firearm without training.
