LANSING, Michigan (AP) – A state group banned open arms transport to the Michigan Capitol on Monday, a week after an armed mob rioted at the U.S. Capitol. and after a plot last year to storm the state house.
Movements to ban weapons in the state house have been fueled since April, when protesters opposed Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19. some restrictions, some armed with long rifles and other weapons, entered the Michigan Capitol demanding that they be allowed access to the floor of a legislative chamber closed to the public.
The Michigan State Capitol Commission, which oversees the Capitol, had been reluctant to issue firearms rules, but changed course Monday and issued an order banning the open port. of weapons.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, who previously said the commission should not be responsible for creating gun policies, said last week that it would support an open transportation ban after the crowds of supporters of President Donald Trump erupted in violence at the U.S. Capitol..
New House Speaker Jason Wentworth said she wants everyone to comply with the rule, though she does not believe the commission has the right to publish it.
“The speaker appreciates the work of the Capitol Commission, but does not have the authority to establish a policy on the Capitol,” Lynn Afendoulis said in a press release. ”The speaker will study options for managing this progress. In the meantime, Michigan State Police will enforce the new sentence. “
Commission Vice-President John Truscott said the commission does not write policy, but is prepared to address general security issues. He said the state government will have to fund it.
“We don’t have a budget for security measures, so in reality, the governor and the legislature should deal with it,” Truscott said. “We’ve gone as far as we can go with the budgetary constraints we have.”
Some of the anti-government extremists accused in a plot to kidnap Whitmer he had brought weapons to the blockade protests at the Capitol last spring. Prosecutors say the accused leader initially spoke of recruiting 200 men to attack the building, take hostages and “execute tyrants.” A secondary plan was to block the exits and set fire to the state house, according to court documents.
The FBI has warned of plans for armed protests in all state capitals and in Washington, DC, in the days leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. Michigan state police will increase their visible and invisible presence at the Capitol over the coming weeks, spokeswoman Shanon Banner said in an email Monday.
The Michigan Democratic Party issued a statement saying that while it applauds the fact that the commission “has finally used its authority,” it is not enough and that all firearms within the Capitol should be banned.
Senator Dayna Polehanki spearheaded an effort to ban all Capitol firearms by introducing legislation last year that died in session. The Livonian Democrat said Monday before the board vote that an open transportation ban doesn’t go far enough and will lead to a false sense of security for those who work and visit the Capitol.
“Bullets are bullets,” he said, regardless of the type of weapons a person carries.
“There’s no reason why any weapon should belong to the Capitol, it’s absurd, the world thinks it’s absurd,” Polehanki said. “It hurts me that it’s even considered a viable action.”
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Anna Liz Nichols is a member of the body of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit services program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on covert issues.
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Associated Press writer David Eggert contributed to this report.