© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Moms call for gun control legislation at state Capitol

U.S. Marine Corps.
/
FLICKR - http://bit.ly/1f2P1w6

Moms and other activists against gun violence gathered at the state Capitol today.  They wanted to meet with as many lawmakers as possible.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America wants lawmakers to keep guns out of schools. In the wake of a mass school shooting in Florida, multiple lawmakers have called for school safety measures like arming teachers.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof is the sponsor of that bill. He says his legislation would help make schools safer.

"Well as a father and a grandfather, I’m concerned about school safety as well. And we may not agree on some of the solutions but I do appreciate that they’re exercising their first amendment rights,” Meekhoff said.

Meekhof’s bill passed the Senate, but it’s been waiting on House committee action since November.

Emily Durbin is the Michigan Chapter Leader for Moms Demand Action. She says more guns in schools is not the answer to school shootings. 

“We want a serious conversation, and we think now people’s minds are a little bit more open, the door is open and we want to start that conversation,” Durbin said.

Durbin says they want to urge lawmakers to pass a bill waiting for a hearing. It would let a court take away a person’s firearms if they show red flags that they could be seen as a danger to themselves or others.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
Related Content