Man uses racial slur while testifying against Michigan Capitol gun ban

Lansing — A man disrupted an already tense Michigan Senate committee hearing Thursday on whether guns should be permanently banned from the state Capitol building by using a racial slur to refer to people in Detroit while testifying.

The individual identified himself as Avi Rachlin and said he was representing “Groypers for America,” referring to a far-right extremist movement, according to the testimony card he submitted to the Michigan Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.

Rachlin opened his remarks by contending that Democrats’ efforts to push the gun prohibition for the state Capitol and House and Senate office buildings went against the “will of the people,” who had voted on Nov. 5 to elect Republican Donald Trump as president and give back control of the state House to the GOP.

“This is legislation that targets White people,” Rachlin said. “It is racial because the people who carry in the Capitol are primarily White people …, and this is retaliation for the only demographic that overwhelmingly voted to support Donald Trump.”

Rachlin then said lawmakers should focus on people who shoot others in places like Detroit. He noted that the committee’s chairwoman, Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, represents a portion of the city. Rachlin then said the individuals are “overwhelmingly 13 to 34 year old Sub-Saharan African n——.”

In response, Chang hit her gavel and said the committee was going to move on.

“Are you going to have armed guards remove me?” Rachlin asked. “Armed men with guns?”

Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, interjected, asking “Did I just hear you call a group of people by some epithet?”

“Yes,” Rachlin replied.

Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly, told Rachlin, “The term that you used is inappropriate, and it will not get you anywhere in this Legislature.”

Moments later, the committee voted 4-2 to send the bills to the full Senate, with Runestad and Johnson in opposition.

The measures would generally prohibit guns inside the Michigan Capitol, the Anderson House Office Building and the Binsfeld Senate Office Building in Lansing. However, a lawmaker with a concealed pistol license would still be able to carry a weapon in the buildings.

Currently, under a policy of the Michigan State Capitol Commission, guns are banned inside the Capitol. That standard doesn’t apply to the House and Senate office buildings.

Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, one of the sponsors of the bills, has argued that lawmakers need to put the prohibition into law so a future commission can’t change it on its own. Polehanki said it is “very important” to her to get the bills through the Legislature by the end of the year, before Republicans take back control of the state House.

“As you can see, my Republican colleagues, who voted no, I guess don’t believe in protecting … Michigan citizens in the Capitol from the real threat of gun violence,” Polehanki said.

The Livonia lawmaker said there are enough votes in the Senate to pass the bills.

Polehanki and Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, both testified on Thursday about protests during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 — before the gun ban was in place — that brought individuals with guns into the gallery of the Senate.

“It was just a few years ago that many of us were in this building absolutely terrified as firearms were pointed at us while we were trying to do our jobs,” Anthony said.

Runestad asked Anthony if she reported the guns being pointed at her to Capitol security. Anthony said she had made a formal complaint to the Michigan State Police and House sergeants. Runestad interrupted Anthony. Then, she said, “I raised a lot of nieces and nephews, and I’m not shy when it comes to addressing temper tantrums.”

A representative from the National Rifle Association and Tom Lambert, legislative director of the group Michigan Open Carry, testified against the bills.

Lambert said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, would have prosecuted individuals if they pointed guns at lawmakers during protests in 2020. Michigan already has a law against brandishing a firearm, which would include pointing a gun in a threatening manner, Lambert noted.

“The bills are a solution in search of a problem,” Lambert argued.

cmauger@detroitnews.com