Michigan
What you need to know about Michigan's new gun laws
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As we remember the tragedy on Michigan State University’s campus that happened exactly one year ago Tuesday, we also look to the future by starting a new chapter in Michigan’s fight against gun violence.
In response the state’s two mass shootings in a 15-month span (Oxford High School, MSU), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Democratic-led legislature signed several gun reform bills in law. On Tuesday, those laws take effect.
“They’re narrowly tailored, if you will, to address very specific problems,” said Pat Miles, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. “Problems that we have experienced, problems that we’ve seen repeatedly over the last few decades.”
The laws revolve around four main ideas: Universal Background Checks, Safe Storage Requirements, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (Red Flag Laws) and Limits on Domestic Abusers.
FOX 17 breaks them down below:
UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS
Background checks, at a basic level, are nothing new to Michigan. Such checks have already been required for handgun purchases. Under this new law, background checks have now been extended to all firearms, including long guns.
Anyone buying any type of gun must first obtain a license or go through a national federal instant background check to purchase a firearm.
This is spelled out in Public Acts No. 18, No. 19 and No. 22.
Background checks look for previous felony convictions, commitments to mental institutions, a history of domestic violence and/or other concerning details about a prospective buyer’s past.
According to Miles, these are “common sense, minimal restrictions on gun ownership. In fact, they’re really not even a restriction as much as they are just a step in a process towards getting a firearm.”
SAFE STORAGE REQUIREMENTS
Public Act No. 15, No. 16 and No. 17 were adopted to protect Michigan families, especially children, from the dangers of violence.
It “requires individuals to keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises,” according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. That means, even if you on someone else’s property, if a child is present, your unattended gun must be locked away.
This applies to any firearm purchased before or after Feb. 13, and aims to address an issue that isn’t unique to Michigan.
In fact, healthychildren.org said 4.6 million kids live in homes with unlocked, loaded guns.
“When gun violence is the leading cause of death among children, then we’ve got a problem,” Miles said. “So this legislation is an effort to fix that problem.”
Watch our full interview below with Miles.
Pat Miles on New Gun Laws
While lawmakers hope this change will inspire gun owners to take the necessary steps toward preventing a tragedy, it really makes a difference on the back end during prosecution.
According to a summary of the safe storage laws by Michigan’s House Fiscal Agency, here are the potential penalties for a violation:
• If the minor possesses or exhibits the firearm in a public place or possesses or exhibits the firearm in the presence of another person in a careless, reckless, or threatening manner: a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 93 days or a fine of up to $500, or both
• If the minor discharges the firearm and injures themselves or another individual: a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
• If the minor discharges the firearm and inflicts serious impairment of a body function1 on themselves or another individual: a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to $7,500, or both.
• If the minor discharges the firearm and inflicts death on themselves or another individual: a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years or a fine of up to $10,000, or both. The criminal penalties could be imposed in addition to any penalty that may be imposed for any other criminal offense arising from the same conduct.
EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS
Perhaps the most controversial piece of legislation deals with Extreme Risk Protection Orders, commonly referred to as ‘Red Flag Laws.’
Public Acts No. 37 and No. 38 aim to take guns out of the hands of people who might be at risk of harming themselves or others. Michigan was the 21st state in the country to enact such laws.
Essentially, a judge can enforce an order if someone is unfit to purchase or possess a firearm. That determination would be based on the petition process through evidence provided by law enforcement agencies, medical and mental health care providers, family members, legal guardians, former spouses, dating partners or previous house/roommates.
If the judge deems the matter an emergency, firearms can be removed from the respondent immediately. In most other cases, the judge will notify the respondent of the petition ahead of a hearing process.
As Miles explains, a single example of a mental health episode will likely not lead to an ERPO:
“If there is a history of violence, a history of personal protection orders being taken out that go back several months or years, then that is certainly gonna be taken into account versus somebody who’s never had a history of violence,” he said.
Miles called ERPO’s procedural guard rails, ones that Clinical Psychologist Susan Silk, PhD, from Southfield, Michigan, said could’ve prevented the unfortunate tragedies that led to this law.
“Those four kids in Oxford, and those three kids at MSU, probably would be alive today if somebody had activated a red flag,” she said, “but it doesn’t address the larger mental health issue.”
Watch our full interview below with Silk.
Susan Silk on New Gun Laws
The challenge, Silk admitted, is balancing people’s civil rights while also protecting the public.
“I would be willing to bet my — anything — that there are no active shooter instances where there were lots and lots and lots of warning signs,” she said. “The reverse, however, is not true. That’s what makes it so difficult. Lots of people make threats, lots of people exhibit warning signs who never act on them.”
ERPO’s, when issued, are not permanent. Instead, they expire one year after the application date.
LIMITS ON DOMESTIC ABUSERS
Public Act No. 200 prevents convicted domestic violence abusers from purchasing or owning guns and ammo for eight years.
Public Acts No. 199 and No. 201 take it even further by forbidding those convicted of misdemeanors involving domestic violence from using or owning guns and ammo, and clarify what domestic violence actions constitute disqualification from owning guns.
You can read more from our FOX 17 coverage when these domestic violence-related laws were signed into law in Nov. 2023.
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A group of residents on Holland Road in Taylor, Michigan, say they are now doing everything they can to keep their neighborhood the way it is after some of them received a letter saying the city is considering rezoning their neighborhood.
“People across the street from me could have warehouse front property instead of woods and nice residential homes,” said Matthew Streicher.
Streicher, whose family has owned property on Holland Road for more than 100 years, says that has been his concern after he received a letter from the city about a proposed rezoning from residential to light industrial directly behind his home near Wick and Holland roads.
“So that’s when I also decided to start knocking on doors around here and saying this is what is going on, we need to speak out and have a voice as to what happens in our backyards, literally,” said Streicher.
Streicher told CBS News Detroit that three of his neighbors received that letter, informing residents that there’s a possibility of a new cold storage warehouse development if this land is rezoned.
“Nothing that belongs in a neighborhood,” said Tim Adkins.
“Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, you know,” said Denise Haggadone.
Many who live on Holland Road say this possibility is even more disturbing because of how long everyone has lived on this quaint road. And these same homeowners say that an industrial facility would only bring in more traffic and take away natural green space, most likely hurting their property value as well.
“It’s nice to see the wildlife, you know, there’s so few places left,” said Adkins.
On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit spoke off-camera with City Council Chairman Charley Johnson, who also lives on Holland Road. Johnson says he understands all of his neighbors’ concerns and agrees with them.
He says the company proposing this rezoning has every right to do so, and that the planning commission will vote on it Wednesday evening.
“It’s sad, I raised my kid here, and he’s planning on having this home after I pass or retire or what have you,” Haggadone said,
The residents hope to see a big turnout at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Taylor City Hall.
The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”
The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.
At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.
“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.
The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.
All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses.
Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”
“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.
Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.
“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.
State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.
“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.
More on the bills
The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.
House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.
Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.
Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.
Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.
Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.
“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
Search for missing Michigan woman Lynette Hooker reopened
The search for missing Lynette Hooker has been reopened. Hooker, who is from Michigan, was with her husband in the Bahamas when he claims she fell off a boat. However, new location data from his cell phone contradicts the story he gave authorities.
(FOX 2) – The search for a missing Michigan in the Bahamas has been reopened after authorities say her husband allegedly gave police false information.
Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian were boating in the Bahamas in early April when, according to her husband, she fell off the boat and was swept to sea. Brian told police he had to paddle to shore after Lynette fell into the water because she had the key.
Brian was taken into custody in the Bahamas after Lynette’s disappearance, but was later released and returned back to Michigan.
Recently, it was revealed that new location data from Brian’s cell phone contradicts the story he gave to authorities, and suggests he may have sent search crews to the wrong area. This new information has led to the U.S. Coast Guard reopening its search for Lynette.
The Source: Previous reporting and information from FOX News were used in this story.
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