Governor Rick Snyder needs to decide soon whether to sign a bill that would allow some people with restraining orders against them to still get concealed gun permits in Michigan.
Senate Bill 789 would allow some people restricted by personal protection orders to get permits, which is prohibited under current law.
In a letter sent yesterday, U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell called on Snyder to veto the legislation. "Signing legislation that would allow firearms in the hands of domestic abusers is a formula for disaster and endangering too many people in our communities," wrote Dingell.
Dingell said she grew up in a violent household, and "I know what it's like to live and be afraid that you might be killed in the presence of a gun where someone has demonstrated that they have the potential for domestic violence."
Someone who has shown they are "capable of domestic abuse or who has terrorized or threatened a woman or child, should not in any way, shape or form have access to guns, yet alone be allowed to carry them as a concealed weapon," Dingell wrote.
In a separate letter, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords also urged Snyder to veto the bill, noting that it would weaken current protections for victims of domestic abuse and stalking in Michigan. "The mere presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk that a woman will die by five times," she wrote. Giffords was critically wounded by a gunman in an assassination attempt in 2011.
Giffords' letter stated that the bill would have a national impact since concealed weapon permits granted in Michigan would be valid in 39 other states through reciprocity agreements.
Virginia Gordan, Michigan Radio Newsroom
