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Stateside Podcast: What is a “Second Amendment Sanctuary?"

Michigan State University students embrace at The Rock on campus, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. Police say the gunman who killed himself hours after fatally shooting three students at Michigan State University was 43-year-old Anthony McRae. Police also say five people who are in critical condition Tuesday are also students.
Carlos Osorio
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AP
Michigan State University students embrace at The Rock on campus, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. Police say the gunman who killed himself hours after fatally shooting three students at Michigan State University was 43-year-old Anthony McRae. Police also say five people who are in critical condition Tuesday are also students.

There’s been another school mass shooting in the U.S. this week. This time it was in Tennessee. The news comes as Michiganders are still reeling from the shooting at Michigan State University, which happened in February of this year.

In Lansing, Democrats – who control the state Legislature for the first time in nearly 40 years – are hoping to turn the tide of gun violence in the state. A package of bills on their way to the governor’s desk will create universal background checks, and require safe storage of guns in homes. A third proposal, that would set up red flag laws – has not passed yet, but it still has a lot of supporters in Lansing.

But the thing about laws is that they have to be enforced to work. According to analysis from Bridge Michigan, the majority of county commissions in the state have made formal statements supporting Second Amendment rights. More than a third of Michigan counties have proclaimed themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuaries.” And a handful of them have encouraged their sheriffs to ignore new gun safety laws.

Today on the Stateside Podcast we speak with executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs Association Matt Saxton about the politics of guns and law enforcement in Michigan.

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Laura is Executive Producer of Stateside. She came to Michigan Public from WDET in Detroit, where she was senior producer on the current events program, Detroit Today.