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Anna Liz Nichols, Michigan Advance
Several new gun laws concerning storage, possession and purchasing firearms go into effect Tuesday in Michigan.
Exactly one year ago, a mass shooting on Michigan State University’s East Lansing campus resulted in the deaths of three students and serious injuries for five others. In response to the tragedy of Feb. 13, 2023, lawmakers got several gun reforms across the finish line in the following months. Now several of the new laws start Tuesday.
After the Oxford High School shooting in November 2021, gun control groups and student advocates had hoped the Republican-led Legislature would act and implement gun safety laws, but bills were never passed. Starting in January 2023, Democrats took over the majority in both chambers of the Legislature and passed a series of gun reform policies.
Former Oxford student turned advocate Maddie Johnson shared her thoughts on how long it took to get change in the state’s gun laws, two years after a shooter fired shots at her school, killing her best friend, Madisyn Baldwin, 17.
“Here in Michigan, I never thought that any of those things would pass. I can’t believe that it took two mass school shootings for it to pass, but I never thought it would pass either way. I’ve spoken at rallies where there were legislators and elected officials screaming at me over a megaphone telling me that I was lying about my story and that I wasn’t the survivor and that I was a political pawn,” Johnson said. “I never thought that any of these things would pass because of all the hate that so many people carry in their hearts, but it happened because people spoke up.”
New policies require universal background checks when purchasing a firearm, allow extreme risk protection orders, expand bans on firearm ownership for domestic abusers and require gun owners to safely store guns and ammunition.
Here’s a breakdown of how the new laws work:
Safe storage
Gun owners starting Tuesday are required to store unattended weapons unloaded and locked, either with a locking device like a trigger lock or in a gun safe or case if the gun owner reasonably knows the firearm could become accessible to a minor.
From 2003 to 2021, 1,262 children between the ages of 0 and 17 were killed unintentionally by a firearm, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2023. Only 25% of the shooters were over the age of 17, 75% were aged 2 to 17 years, the study found.
Almost all victims were shot in a house or apartment, 86%, with 56% of all victims being shot in their own home.
The most common precipitating circumstance to the unintentional fatal shooting of a child from 2003 to 2021 was “the shooter playing with or showing the firearm to another person” at 66.6%. And 20.5% of shooters had thought “the firearm was unloaded, the safety was engaged, or the magazine was disengaged.”
These policy changes will save lives in Michigan and it’s noteworthy that all these changes take effect one year exactly from the MSU shooting, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said during the Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Summit in January alongside other gun violence speakers including a student advocate from MSU.
“We have to take action to keep people safe and that means as a gun owner, you have to be responsible for this thing that if used in the wrong way, in the wrong hands, if treated without the respect and responsibility it deserves, will result in the loss of life,” said Gilchrist, a Democrat. “For the first time in 40 years, Michigan is now a state that is on the right side of preventing gun violence and we are proud of it.”
The penalty for failing to safely store a firearm as outlined in the new laws varies on what level of possession, detonation and harm the minor performs. Penalties can vary from a misdemeanor, carrying up to 93 days in jail if a minor is able to possess the firearm in public to up to 15 years in prison if that minor detonates the weapon and kills themselves or others.
There are exemptions in Michigan’s law that allow a minor to be in possession of a firearm, although a person must be 21 to purchase a firearm. Minors may use firearms in the presence of an adult as part of their employment, for ranching or farming, or for practicing educational purposes and target practice.
The Department of Health and Human Services, with the advice of the attorney general’s department, is responsible for informing the state of the new requirements and penalties.
Universal background checks
Previous state law only required background checks for pistol sales and effectively didn’t mandate such criminal background checks or registration for other types of firearms, such as rifles.
A prohibition on purchasing a firearm without a license in the state, as well as a new mandate for universal background checks for all firearm sales, go into effect Tuesday. This will not impact individuals who have already purchased long guns without such requirements.
The expansion of background checks and registration only applies to long guns sold outside of federally licensed dealers, which have their own requirements. The law change aims to close a loophole in state law to implement background checks and purchasing licensure requirements for long gun sales from private, non-federal sellers for which there is currently no such requirements.
Universal background checks were among the bills that were signed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on MSU’s campus last spring.
“We don’t have to live like this. And today, we are showing that we are not going to anymore,” Whitmer said before signing the bills.
Those interested in purchasing, inheriting or receiving a firearm as a gift must go to a law enforcement agency to clear a background check and attest that they are qualified under Michigan law to have a license to purchase a firearm.
Individuals looking to purchase a firearm in Michigan would have to meet the same qualifications set out to be eligible for the existing concealed pistol license (CPL):
They have to be a United States citizen or a legal resident.They can’t be subject to specified orders outlined in the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN).They can’t have a pending felony charge or other disqualifying criminal charge within a specified timeframe to application outlined in current law. They can’t be barred from possessing or distributing a firearm under the current law.A judge must not have determined them to currently be insane or legally incapacitated in the state or be involuntarily committed to a care facility due to mental illness.
Domestic violence gun laws
When it came to domestic abusers, only those convicted of domestic violence related felonies faced temporary restrictions of three years barring them from firearm possession, under the previous law —but not those convicted of misdemeanor offenses.
As of Tuesday, misdemeanor domestic violence offenses will now warrant an eight-year ban on possessing, purchasing and distributing firearms.
Leaving out misdemeanors created a lethal loophole in Michigan state law in the past, advocates for the change said throughout the legislative process.
Legal repercussions for domestic violence first offenses often focus on allowing an abuser to cool off, but don’t ensure a survivor will remain safe from repeat abuse, Michigan Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence Public Policy Specialist Heath Lowry said at a legislative committee meeting in September. Abuse often continues and escalates until a major force can stop it.
Domestic assault, in particular, isn’t considered a felony until the third offense. Aggravated domestic assault, meaning someone has inflicted “serious or aggravated injury,” isn’t a felony until it happens for a second time.
“This serious increase in danger requires us to have an equally serious response to mitigate that danger,” Lowry said.
As of Tuesday, individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses connected to domestic violence will be barred from possessing, purchasing or distributing firearms for eight years after they have completed all aspects of their sentence.
‘Red flag’ laws
Michigan’s new “red flag” laws allow judges to issue an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to confiscate firearms from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others.
Michigan is the 21st state to implement extreme risk protection orders with the state law outlining who exactly can file a request for one and what needs to be taking place to warrant one.
ERPOs present a potentially life-saving option for abuse victims who aren’t necessarily ready or willing to prosecute criminal charges against their abusers, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said during the Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Summit.
“Are you afraid because you have an abuser that you live with that has a firearm, whose threatened to use that firearm against you? So even if you are not in a place where you feel ready to prosecute that person, at least we can better protect people by knowing that that firearm can temporarily be removed from that person if we think that that is going to be the main source of harm,” Nessel said.
Only certain individuals may file a request to the court for an extreme risk protection order:
- The individual’s spouse or former spouse
- Someone with whom the individual has a child
- Someone with whom the individual is in a dating relationship or has been in a dating relationship
- “Dating relationship” is defined in the law as “a relationship that consists of frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement. Dating relationship does not include a casual relationship or an ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in a business or social context.”
- Someone residing or a past resident of the individual’s household
- A family member, specifically a parent; a son or daughter; a sibling; an uncle or aunt; a grandparent; a grandchild; or a first cousin.
- A law enforcement officer
- A mental health professional
The request has to state factual concerns to support the necessity complaint must state facts for an extreme risk protection order, showing that it is reasonable to believe that the individual will harm themselves or others in the future by possessing a firearm. Their actions or making threats of action can support the request for an ERPO.
It’s important to include as many details as possible when requesting an ERPO, both when explaining the need for such an order and a description from the petitioner on how many and what kind of firearms are believed to be in the individual’s possession.
Although the request should be as specific as possible in order to give a judge enough knowledge to grant the request, the petitioner doesn‘t need to know how many firearms, if any, are accessible to the person, Everytown Director of Implementation Chelsea Parsons said during the Michigan Gun Violence Prevention Summit in January. The person does not need to even be in possession of a firearm to have an ERPO enforced.
“If the court issues an extreme risk protection order, it will order the respondent to surrender any firearms that they already own, but they will also prevent that individual from being able to purchase firearms,” Parsons said.
A court has to make a determination on an ERPO. Once an ERPO is granted, the individual has generally 24 hours to relinquish all their firearms and ammunition to law enforcement. A hearing to allow a person to contest an ERPO would have to be scheduled within 14 days after the order is served or five days if they are a member of law enforcement.
ERPOs expire after one year and can be extended by a judge if the danger persists, but individuals can contest the order every six months.
Failing to comply with an ERPO can result in criminal penalties, with the first offense warranting a misdemeanor charge and up to 93 days in jail. A third offense is a felony carrying up to five years in prison for each additional offense.
Making false statements in order to secure an ERPO is also a criminal offense that can warrant a misdemeanor charge and up to 93 days in jail for a person’s first offense. If a person makes false statements in securing an ERPO three or more times, it’s a felony carrying up to five years in prison for each offense.
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.
