Lansing — The Michigan Senate voted late Thursday night in favor of new restrictions that supporters hope will combat gun violence: banning the possession of bump stocks and of firearms that don’t feature serial numbers.
Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, told reporters that Democrats wanted to use the final days of their control of the Legislature to protect Michigan residents. Republicans will hold power in the House, beginning in January.
“This is something that Republicans won’t do on their own, so I’ll stay here all night, all day until this gets done,” Polehanki said.
The bump stock prohibition focuses on devices that are designed to make the technique of bump firing easier to achieve, using the strength of a weapon’s recoil to rapidly move the trigger.
On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman in Las Vegas used semi-automatic rifles, with bump stock devices, to launch a barrage of shots that killed 58 people and wounded more than 850 others among 22,000 concertgoers attending an outdoor music festival. The gunman was able to fire off more than 1,000 bullets in 11 minutes.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal rule that prohibited bump stocks. The high court said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had exceeded its authority. Soon after, state Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, introduced a bill in the Michigan Legislature to make it a felony to possess or sell a bump stock in Michigan.
The measure passed in a vote of 23-12 Thursday night with three Republicans crossing over to join majority Democrats in support. The GOP lawmakers who voted yes were Sens. Thomas Albert of Lowell, Mark Huizenga of Walker and Mike Webber of Rochester Hills.
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State Rep. Jim DeSana, R-Carleton, previously spoke out against the bump stock ban.
“I have a strong core belief that the people’s constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms and the right of self defense is absolute and cannot be restricted, infringed or regulated to the point that a law abiding citizen would find themselves in violation of laws just for having certain types of guns,” DeSana said in June.
The Senate also approved separate bills that would make it a crime to manufacture, possess or sell guns that don’t feature serial numbers, frequently referred to as ghost guns.
Ghost guns can be built from separate pieces or a kit and are often made of 3D printed material and untraceable, according to the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency.
The number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement in the U.S. increased by 398% from 2016 to 2020 with nearly 24,000 ghost guns recovered across the country during that five-year period, according to the national organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said the country had seen a “proliferation of ghost guns.”
The main ghost gun proposal passed in a vote of 20-15 with Democrats in support and Republicans in opposition.
In a statement earlier this week, Attorney General Dana Nessel said ghost guns “severely undermine our state’s ability to effectively investigate and prevent gun violence.”
“By taking decisive action to ban them, we can prevent further tragedies in our communities and protect the lives of Michiganders,” Nessel, a Democrat, said. “This legislation is not about infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
“It’s about ensuring that our communities are safe from criminals using ghost guns to commit untraceable crimes.”
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Sen. Joe Bellino, R-Monroe, spoke out against the ghost gun bills, contending Democrats should insist “soft-on-crime prosecutors” enforce the gun laws already on the books.
“This bill is another attempt to infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens who responsibly exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Bellino said.
The votes Thursday night came on one of the final nights of the 2023-2024 legislative term. To become law, the bills would have to be approved by the House and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In 2023, after a shooting on the campus of Michigan State University, the Democrat-controlled Legislature enacted a series of new gun restrictions, expanding background check requirements for firearm purchases and imposing storage standards for guns kept in homes where children are present.
Republicans will take control of the state House in January.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
