Pistols in your preschools…
In true Orwellian fashion, the author of legislation passed yesterday by the state Senate that allows guns to be carried in so-called “no-carry” or “no gun” zones, said that the church shooting in Texas this past week was actually an argument FOR loosening gun restrictions in Michigan:
Despite outcry from Democrats and school groups, people could carry concealed guns inside schools, bars, preschools, churches and other places where they’re currently prohibited under a plan the Senate approved Wednesday.
The Republican-led Senate approved the bills in a series of 26-11 and 25-12 votes along party lines. Sen. Marty Knollenberg of Troy was the only Republican to vote no — on Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof’s bill to allow guns in currently gun-free zones, including bars, arenas, stadiums, hospitals and casinos, at the discretion of the private property owner.
Meekhof, R-West Olive, fast-tracked the plan after a Senate committee he chairs signed off on the legislation Tuesday and two days after a shooting in a Texas church. Meekhof had told reporters Tuesday that “now is the time,” although he said the unexpected urgency after months of stalling has nothing to do with the latest mass shooting.
On Wednesday, Meekhof urged passage to prevent violent atrocities. On Sunday, 26 people were killed in a shooting at a Texas church.
“I thought after this most recent one: People are not given the opportunity to defend themselves and they are sitting ducks in these pistol-free zones,” Meekhof told reporters after the Senate vote. “It is the right time to have this discussion. It is the time to make sure law-abiding, highest-trained gun owners in America be able to defend themselves in pistol-free zones.”
In case you’re keeping score at home, Meekhof is saying that, although gun fetishists believe it’s the WRONG time to discuss gun controls immediately after a murderous tragedy, it is precisely the RIGHT time to talk about making guns MORE prevalent in our communities.
The legislation requires that the concealed pistol license carrier attend only eight hours of training. In a minor concession, it allows colleges and universities as well as privately-owned establishments from declaring their facilities to be gun-free zones. Schools can also prohibit students from carrying weapons (though their parents and others still could.)
Let’s do a quick thought experiment: Imagine you’re sitting in a church, maybe singing or praying or reading the Bible. Suddenly a man with a rapid-firing gun comes in and begins shooting people. Children. Babies. A pregnant woman. A senior citizen.
Hold that image with all the screaming and blood and carnage and chaos in your mind.
Now imagine that some “heroes” with a scant 8 hours of training whip out their guns from all around the room and begin shooting.
What started as single person firing his weapon is now a fire fight.
Now imagine the police arrive on the scene and have to determine what is going on inside that church with multiple people shooting at each other. How do they sort out the “good guys with guns” from the “bad guy with a gun” in the middle of this bloodbath? What happens when the “good guys with guns” shoot the wrong person or people?
Ask yourself how this situation was improved by interjecting MORE guns into it.
If these bills are signed into law, this is a realistic depiction of what could happen. At a church, synagogue, or temple. In a dimly-lit bar full of drunk people. In a daycare center full of preschool children. In a public school. In a crowded football stadium. In a hospital or casino or music arena.
And lest you think this is a step too far, you need to understand that the group Michigan Open Carry OPPOSES it because it is overly restrictive by not allowing people to carry their guns openly in these former “no-carry zones”.
You also need to understand that the House has already passed legislation that would do away with the educational requirements entirely and allow anyone to carry a gun without a permit.
The legislation passed by the Senate yesterday – Senate Bills 584-586 – now goes to the House where it will be taken up for a vote some time after Thanksgiving. If it passes there it will go to Gov. Rick Snyder to sign into law. Gov. Snyder vetoed similar legislation in 2012.
This needs your ACTION! Call your House legislator TODAY and urge them to vote NO! on Senate Bill 584-586. If you need help finding who to call, click HERE.
[Meme by Anne C. Savage from tweet by LOLGOP]
