Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee takes up 11-bill gun violence prevention package, hears supportive testimony from MSU, Oxford victims and families, Oakland County officials
EDITOR’S NOTE: Photos of Sen. McMorrow testifying are attached and video of her testimony is available here.
LANSING, Mich. (March 2, 2023) — Today, Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) testified before the Senate Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Senate Bill 83, her legislation to allow a court to issue an “Extreme Risk Protection Order” (ERPO) to take temporary possession of a firearm if the court finds that an individual is at risk of harming themselves or others.
“In the wake of mass shooting events, the public conscience is ripped open—and suddenly all of us, in small ways, get a sense of the pain, trauma, and devastation caused by gun violence every single day, in instances like these stories, the ones that don’t make the headlines,” said Sen. McMorrow. “Our goal here must be to ensure that we reduce the sheer number of people whose lives are upended by gun violence so that this is not a shared experience. And extreme risk protection orders —or red flag laws—will save lives.”
Sen. McMorrow’s bill is part of a broader 11-bill gun violence prevention package introduced by Senate Democrats to encourage gun safety and help prevent acts of violence like the shootings at Michigan State University on Feb. 13, and Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021. In addition to establishing ERPOs, the legislation also requires universal background checks to close the private sale loophole and creates secure storage laws to keep legal firearms out of the hands of children and teens.
“Red flags laws create a preventative tool, a stopgap for loved ones, judges, and law enforcement,” Sen. McMorrow said. “And while it is difficult to measure ‘events that did not happen,’ evidence shows that these extreme risk protection orders can and do reduce suicide deaths.”
The committee also heard supportive testimony on the legislative package from a number of gun violence victims and family members, including students and parents from Michigan State University. Attorney General Dana Nessel also spoke in support of the bills, and Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard submitted written testimony in support of the gun violence prevention bills. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit testified to the importance of the bills to prevent violence and promote public safety, and emphasize the value and effectiveness of McMorrow’s ERPO legislation in particular.
Extreme Risk Protection Order laws, also known as red flag laws, allow loved ones or law enforcement to ask a court to temporarily order the removal of guns from an individual who is at risk of harming themselves or others. These laws can deescalate dangerous situations and reduce gun violence, including suicides and mass shootings, while still upholding due process in the legal system.
BACKGROUND:
Nineteen states and Washington, D.C. currently have Red Flag laws in place. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, Connecticut and Indiana experienced a reduction in firearm suicide rates following enactment of Extreme Risk laws.
Michigan voters ranked passing a red flag law as their top priority for the new legislature according to a statewide Glengariff Group poll released in December 2022. Overall, 74 percent of voters said they would support a red flag law. A national 2022 GQR Poll found that 77 percent of respondents support for allowing police, family, or household members to obtain court orders to temporarily prevent access to firearms by persons who may harm themselves or others, legislation sometimes called “Extreme Risk Protection Orders.”
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