LANSING, Mich. (June 22, 2024) — Sen. Sue Shink (D-Northfield Twp.) has issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday upholding laws banning certain individuals convicted of certain domestic violence crimes from owning a gun, including the Senator’s legislation passed in Michigan last fall:
“This decision marks a pivotal moment as the U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling, has upheld essential constitutional protections that secure the rights of all Americans. I am heartened by this decision, especially after hearing the heartbreaking and harrowing stories of domestic abuse survivors and advocates. Their experiences underscore the volatile and potentially fatal nature of domestic violence situations — especially when firearms are present.
“The passage of our 2023 legislation aimed at safeguarding survivors of domestic violence was a crucial step in ensuring the well-being of our residents. However, the court’s ruling yesterday unequivocally affirms these rights and protections — securing them for every person across the nation.”
Sen. Shink was the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 528, which was passed last year along with Senate Bill 471 sponsored by Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and House Bill 4945 sponsored by Rep. Amos O’Neal (D-Saginaw). These new laws strengthen domestic violence protections in Michigan and help prevent firearm injury and death. The legislative package mirrors federal law and modifies the state’s penal code to protect domestic violence survivors by prohibiting those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes from possessing, using, purchasing or carrying a firearm in Michigan for eight years. While signed into state law in December 2023 and taking effect in February 2024, yesterday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court definitively upholds the constitutionality of this statute and similar laws around the country.
-
Access to a firearm makes it five times more likely an abusive partner will kill their female victim.
-
Up to one in three Michigan families are impacted by domestic violence.
-
According to the FBI, there were 341 domestic violence homicides in Michigan from 2003 to 2012, which include both male and female victims. Of those homicides, more than half of the victims — 51.3 percent — were killed with guns.
-
Nearly half of all women murdered in the United States are killed by a current or former intimate partner, and more than half of these intimate partner homicides are by firearm.