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Michigan Commission bans open carry at the State Capitol.
A man brought a rifle to a rally in support of President Trump outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., last Wednesday.Credit.Paul Sancya/Associated Press
Jan. 11, 2021
The Michigan State Capitol Commission voted unanimously on Monday to ban the open carry of weapons in the state Capitol in Lansing. But gun owners with a concealed-weapons permit will still be able to carry concealed guns into the Capitol, and there will be restrictions on carrying guns on the Capitol grounds.
It’s a good first step, said state Representative Sarah Anthony, a Lansing Democrat who has called for a total ban on guns in the Capitol.
ANNA LIZ NICHOLS
LANSING A state panel on Monday banned the open carry of guns in Michigan’s Capitol, a week after an armed mob rioted in the U.S. Capitol and following a plot last year to storm the statehouse.
Moves to ban weapons at the statehouse have been pushed since April, when protesters opposed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions, some armed with long rifles and other weapons, entered the Michigan Capitol demanding to be allowed onto the floor of a legislative chamber that was closed to the public.
The Michigan State Capitol Commission, which is responsible for overseeing the Capitol, had been reluctant to issue rules for firearms, but it shifted course Monday and issued the order to ban the open carrying of weapons.
January 12, 2021 11:52 a.m.
The decision of an oversight body to ban openly carried firearms in the Michigan State Capitol but not all guns has left the building vulnerable, Michigan’s attorney general said Tuesday.
“My job is not to provide state employees & residents or other visitors to our Capitol with a false sense of security, especially given the current state of affairs in Michigan and around the nation,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote.
“I repeat-the Michigan Capitol is not safe.”
The open carry ban in question, approved by the state’s Capitol Commission Monday, followed previous failures by the commission to restrict weaponry in the legislature.