As an advocate for the Second Amendment, I strongly oppose the red flag and “safe storage” gun control laws that are being rammed through the Legislature by Michigan Democrats. While these laws are being presented as “commonsense” measures to prevent gun violence, they couldn’t be more extreme and partisan. Their bills are a direct threat to the Constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners in our community and state.

If these proposals become law, practices like keeping a gun in your nightstand could become punishable as misdemeanors and felonies of varying severity. The right to self-preservation ought to be absolute in this State, instead, these bills make criminals of good, law-abiding citizens who seek to protect their homes and their loved ones.

With these bills, Democrats do not address the root cause of the kind of violence we see in our state. Instead of trying to score partisan points, House and Senate Republicans are committed to proposing actual solutions to the causes of violence in our society.  First and foremost, there needs to be a drastic increase in funding for critical mental healthcare services.  Last term, we got the ball rolling, and I’m hopeful that the new budget will continue our investment and reach people before it’s too late.

I’m also supportive of a new school safety legislative package that was recently introduced.  It’s the culmination of 2 years’ worth of work that involved Republicans, Democrats, law enforcement, prosecutors, teachers, and school administrators.  A lot of work went into the package, and I believe it’s a significant step toward protecting our children.

Additionally, I’m disappointed that the new Democrat majority in the legislature voted against a $1 billion investment to make schools and communities more secure from gun violence. Unfortunately, it seems that they’re more interested in pursuing a political agenda rather than addressing the real problems.

We can work together to develop commonsense policies to reduce violence in our society, or we can continue putting on partisan blinders while ignoring the rights of our citizens. I’m hopeful Democrats pause and stop their attacks on Michiganders’ 2^nd Amendment rights.