The most important legislation for legal gun owners since the Castle Doctrine and shall-issue is currently under consideration by the Michigan Legislature. The bill would eliminate county gun boards and allow all CPL holders to be exempt from pistol free zones after additional training.
Senate Bill 59 (S-3) passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee in late March, just before the Michigan Legislature took a two-week recess. The Michigan Senate returns to work this week and a vote is expected in the full Senate very soon. Please call or e-mail your state senator today and ask them to vote YES on Senate Bill 59. Click HERE to Find Your Senator.
The main opposition to Senate Bill 59 is coming from the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association and the Michigan Health and Hospital Association.
The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association opposed shall-issue concealed carry in Michigan when it was adopted 11 years ago. Despite an increase in the number of pro-gun county sheriffs in Michigan over the past decade, their association continues to be unfriendly to legal gun owners. The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association refuses to work with Senate Bill 59’s sponsor, Senator Mike Green. It opposes both the elimination of county gun boards and the elimination of pistol free zones. On the issue of pistol free zones, the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association wrote on March 29, 2012, “We would like to reiterate our concerns for expanding the exemptions for pistol free zones. There are just some place a concealed weapon is inappropriate and unsafe.”
The Michigan Health and Hospital Association also is opposing the exemption to pistol free zones with additional training. This organization argues that because private hospital will continue to have the right to ban firearms under trespassing laws, that all hospitals, both public and private, should remain pistol free zones for legal CPL holders. It is asking senators to vote for an amendment to Senate Bill 59 which would keep hospitals as PFZs. If it passes, lobbyists representing other PFZs are likely to push for their own amendments.
