LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 1, 2021) — Michigan’s legislative Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention Caucus, chaired by Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Beverly Hills) and Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac), has issued the following statement after four students were killed and seven others injured during a school shooting at Oxford High School yesterday afternoon:
“We are heartbroken by the tragic events that happened in our own backyard. No parent should have to fear for their child’s safety at school, and no community should have to bury the children they helped raise.
“While we have met resistance on taking proactive measures to prevent gun violence in the past, we are asking folks to consider a change of heart and mind so the students who died at Oxford — and who have died in countless other tragedies across the country — have not died in vain. We have introduced commonsense gun safety legislation in the past and, in doing so, have warned about the very tragedy we now face. We are reaching across the aisle, seeking to revisit this issue so we can hopefully prevent another senseless tragedy in our schools, and must recognize that the freedom to kill is not more important than the freedom to live and learn in peace.
“As legislators, we have a responsibility to protect our communities, reflect on the policy failings that undoubtedly led to yesterday’s tragedy, and honor the children we senselessly lost with action and prevention. While now is a time of healing and community support as we all grieve, the time for action is imminent because this tragedy should never happen again in Michigan.”
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