Michigan gun safety activists called for an end to legal immunity for gun manufacturers during a rally at the state Capitol Tuesday.
Rebekah Schuler is a survivor of the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School. She accused gun makers of being “complicit” in the violence.
“They are intentionally making their weapons more deadly, marketing their guns to kids, and doing business with gun sellers who knowingly skirt the law,” Schuler told attendees of Tuesday’s rally before adding, “It's not just the gun. It's not just the shooter. It is an entire gun industry that is making gun violence worse in America. And the sickest part of it all is they're getting paid to do it.”
Stripping immunity for liability lawsuits for gunmakers was floated last legislative session. It appeared in a draft of safe storage legislation but was eventually removed before the bill became law.
Standalone bills were also introduced but never saw a vote.
It’s unlikely any bills would pass now that Republicans control the Michigan House. State Representative Phil Green (R-Millington) chairs the legislative Second Amendment Caucus. He said it's rare that businesses in other industries get held responsible when people misuse products.
“While we make excuses for people who commit heinous crimes and try to blame it on the manufacturer … let’s hold the people accountable that do the crimes, and let’s not muddy the waters by blaming anybody and everybody in shifting the blame,” Green said when asked for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Another issue highlighted during Tuesday’s rally was a desire to ban so-called ghost guns.
Those are guns that can be built at home with assembly kits or 3D printed parts. They don’t have serial numbers and can be very hard to track.
State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) sponsored bills to ban them last legislative term. She said wants to reintroduce the policy. But first, she wants to build upon a coalition she started to assemble last time around.
“We had support from some unexpected places. Law enforcement agencies were close, they were engaging as well as many of our gun store owners who take very seriously their responsibility to vet people, to run background checks, and they know that these illegal ghost guns make their job harder,” McMorrow said.
That partnership will be key if those policies hope to get further now in divided government than they did when Democrats held the entire state Legislature last term.
Critics are skeptical of the need for the policy.
“Bad people are going to do bad things regardless of the laws that you put in and so let’s prosecute the crimes of using weapons,” Green said.
Domestic violence advocates also spoke at Tuesday’s event to call for more funding for shelters and programs. Without it, they warned those resources could be at risk of scaling back or possibly shutting down.
Part of the concern is because federal funding that usually helps pay for those programs could face cuts or spending freezes.
Faith Brown is an advocate and violence survivor. She said programs that serve survivors will need $75 million from the state to continue their work.
“These new gun laws will not protect survivors if our domestic violence programs close their doors,” Brown said.
