Multiple Michigan gun laws, including a mandatory secure storage law, recently earned the governor’s seal of approval, and there may be a mag ban on the horizon for Michiganders.
On April 13, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made good on her promise to tighten gun control laws in her state, signing two expansive packages of bills. One imposes new mandatory secure storage requirements, which say all guns must be stored — unloaded — under lock and key. This essentially makes a practical home defense firearm illegal. And there will be stiff penalties for noncompliance.
The other legislation package requires background checks for all private sales and transfers of long guns, meaning if a Michigan resident wants to sell a hunting rifle or shotgun to a buddy or if one is handed down from a relative, it will have to be done through law enforcement or an FFL, and the recipient must have a state-issued permit-to-purchase card.
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What’s in the New Michigan Gun Control Laws
Here is a summary of bills that Governor Whitmer signed into law last week:
Mandatory Secure Storage RequirementsSB 79 specifies a new requirement to store firearms in an unloaded state, under lock and key. Under this law, gun owners have a legal obligation to:
- Store the firearm in a locked box or container, and
- Keep the firearm unloaded and lock the firearm with a locking device that is properly engaged to render the firearm inoperable by any individual other than the owner or an authorized user.
SB 80 details stiff penalties for gun owners who leave a firearm where it may be accessed by a minor and update sentencing guidelines accordingly.SB 81 and SB 82 exempt firearms safety devices from sales and use tax, respectively. According to these bills, these devices include:
- A device that, when installed on a firearm, is designed to prevent the firearm from being operated without first deactivating the device, and
- Gun safes, gun cases, lockboxes, or other devices that are designed, in light of materials used, to prevent access to a firearm by any means other than a key, a combination, biometric data, or other similar means.
Expanded Requirements for Private Long Gun Purchases and Transfers
HB 4138 mandates background checks for the private sale and transfer of long guns (rifles and shotguns). For example, a hunting rifle passed down to another family member would now require a permit-to-purchase card, obtained by visiting a local law enforcement agency and passing a NICS background check.
HB 4142 and HB 4143 revise the language of existing, related gun law to remove the pistol-only references in the related penal code and update sentencing guidelines.
In a recent press release, Gov. Whitmer characterized the new laws as “common sense” and supported by a majority of Michiganders. “Universal background checks and safe storage are long-overdue steps we are proud to take today that will save lives by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and domestic abusers and children in the home.”
Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told Free Range American that “lawmakers are passing restrictions that will do nothing to deter crime. Rather, these measures will only jeopardize individuals’ constitutional rights and make them less safe — something that always happens when officials create new hoops for law-abiding citizens to jump through.”
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Consequences of the 2022 Election
Whitmer and her fellow Democrats in Michigan wasted no time advancing their gun control agenda after winning narrow majorities in both the House and Senate in the November 2022 election.
These bills, introduced just days after the tragic mass shooting at Michigan State University, raced through the state legislature at breakneck speed. Both ultimately passed along party lines.
Steve Dulan, an attorney with more than 30 years of specialized experience in gun law, is the second vice chair and legal foundation chair for the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO). He told Free Range American that the timing of these new laws coincides with the most concerted, multifaceted attack on the Second Amendment he’s ever seen.
“It’s coming from states and the federal [government] all at once,” Dulan told FRA. “It’s like they’ve been planning this crap in the jungle and waiting for the right time — this is their ‘Tet Offensive.’”
With control of the legislature and governor’s seat, Dulan said state Dems refused requests from most gun advocacy groups and private citizens to review the legislation and share their comments at hearings held on the bills.
Dulan, present for at least one of the hearings, told FRA that only two people — prominent gun-rights advocate John Lott and Nikki Goeser from the Crime Prevention Research Center — were allowed into the chamber to voice opposing views.
According to Dulan, when Lott tried to speak, the chair cut him off, shouted him down, and moved the bill straight to the floor without further comments.
That behavior prompted the filing of a last-minute lawsuit by two Michigan gun rights groups that claimed the state Legislature had violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by allegedly denying the groups enough time to testify. The suit was dismissed by a judge a few days later.
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And it Ain’t Over — Red Flag Laws and Michigan Mag Ban Incoming
Yet another series of bills (SB 83, 84, 85, and 86), which cleared the state senate last week, propose new “red flag” laws for Michigan. Collectively known as the “Extreme Risk Protection Order Act,” these laws would allow family members, law enforcement officers, and others to petition the court to confiscate guns from (and block gun purchases for) those deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Whitmer is expected to sign the Extreme Risk Protection Act into law soon.
Gun rights groups and legal scholars oppose red flag laws on the grounds that they deny due process rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Depending on the state, under existing red flag laws, defendants are often disallowed from attending hearings and prevented from cross-examining witnesses prior to being served with the order.
Michigan Magazine Ban Coming Soon
Furthermore, in a recent email newsletter sent to its members, MCRGO claims state Democrats are planning to introduce a bill that would ban the sale of magazines holding more than 10 rounds and require current owners of these magazines to register them with the state police.
The litigation machine is already warming up. In a May 1 email message to members, Dulan expressed confidence in MCRGO’s forthcoming legal challenges.
“Due to recent federal court decisions, including last June’s United States Supreme Court opinion in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen,” he wrote, “the MCRGO Foundation believes it has a strong chance of prevailing in litigation against these new gun control measures.
“The MCRGO Foundation is engaged in legal strategy discussions with attorneys from allied firearms organizations to discuss the best path forward to countering attacks in Michigan on your self-defense rights. This includes attorneys from other states who are in the process of litigating similar gun control measures,” Dulan concluded.
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