Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Monday that prohibits individuals convicted of a misdemeanor related to domestic violence from possessing firearms for at least an eight-year-period.
State law currently includes firearm restrictions for those with felonies related to domestic abuse, but no law had existed for misdemeanor domestic violence.
The overhauled gun laws follow two deadly mass school shootings that happened in Michigan within a 14-month period.
Federal law already prohibits those charged with felonies or misdemeanors related to domestic violence from purchasing or possessing a gun.
Guns were used in more than half, 57%, of those killings in 2020, a year that saw an overall increase in domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic.
Persons:
Gretchen Whitmer, ” Whitmer, “, Whitmer, Democratic State Sen, Stephanie Chang, Governor Whitmer, ” John Feinblatt, Maggie Wardle, Maggie, Rick Omillian, Maggie’s
Organizations:
— Michigan Democrats, Democratic State, District of Columbia, Federal, “, Safety, for Disease Control, Kalamazoo College
Locations:
LANSING, Mich, Kalamazoo, Michigan, “