{"id":5490,"date":"2019-12-04T15:30:59","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T15:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/chang\/?p=5490"},"modified":"2019-12-04T15:30:59","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T15:30:59","slug":"legislators-announce-bills-to-expand-universal-background-checks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/chang\/2019\/12\/04\/legislators-announce-bills-to-expand-universal-background-checks\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislators Announce Bills to Expand Universal Background Checks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>LANSING \u2014\u202fSens.\u202f<strong>Rosemary Bayer<\/strong>\u202f(D\u2013Beverly Hills),&nbsp;<strong>Stephanie Chang<\/strong>&nbsp;(D\u2013Detroit) and<strong>&nbsp;Jeremy Moss&nbsp;<\/strong>(D\u2013Southfield), along with Reps.<strong>Robert Wittenberg<\/strong>&nbsp;(D\u2013Huntington Woods),&nbsp;<strong>Brenda Carter<\/strong>&nbsp;(D\u2013Pontiac) and&nbsp;<strong>Jon Hoadley<\/strong>&nbsp;(D\u2013Kalamazoo) today announced a bill package to expand universal background checks for guns to cover all types of firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The universal background check bills would amend Michigan law \u2014 that currently only requires background checks for pistols \u2014 by requiring mandatory background checks for all types of firearms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo keep our residents safe, we must update Michigan\u2019s existing laws to reflect the changing society that we live in,\u201d Sen. Bayer said. \u201cIt\u2019s our duty as lawmakers to ensure that people are as safe as possible, whether that be in their homes, at work, in school, in houses of worship or anywhere they may be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bills would also update Michigan laws to reflect the changes to universal background checks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen gun violence touches a synagogue in Pittsburgh, a night club in Orlando, and schools all throughout the country, people from all walks of life have a sense of fear that these tragedies can happen anywhere at any time. This shouldn\u2019t be normal, and we don\u2019t have to accept it,\u201d Sen. Moss said. \u201cThese are common-sense bills that most Americans support to prevent the next tragedy from occurring. Our colleagues must join us to pass these reforms to keep everyone in each of our districts safe.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The legislation would require state law to include all firearms. It would also update the criminal procedure and sentencing guidelines for a person who forges information on their firearm license application, provides a false statement on a firearms sales record, or knowingly sells a firearm without performing a background check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFamilies across our state deserve to feel safe and secure in their homes and on their streets knowing that criminals are not able to readily access firearms,\u201d Rep. Wittenberg said. \u201cMichigan residents understand the critical role background checks play in keeping our communities safe, which is why it is so important that we extend this provision to include all firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lawcenter.giffords.org\/gun-laws\/policy-areas\/background-checks\/universal-background-checks\/#state\">Michigan is one of only four states that require a permit and a background check for all purchases of handguns<\/a>, but not long guns. Currently, 12 states and Washington D.C. require universal background checks for all firearm sales.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2018\/02\/21\/states-most-and-least-gun-violence-see-where-your-state-stacks-up\/359395002\/\">Of these, six rank as one of the 10 states with the least gun violence<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFirearm injuries are currently the second leading cause of death in children and teens. Requiring universal background checks for firearms purchases gets us closer to the goal of preventing these tragic deaths,\u201d said Dr. Sharon Swindell, a University of Michigan physician and president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. \u201cPolls consistently find that the vast majority of people surveyed in the United States, including 85% of gun owners, favor universal background checks on sales of all weapons. There is wide bipartisan support to keep guns out of the wrong hands and it\u2019s time for Michigan to take that stand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/chang\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/12\/2019.12.04-PressConference-BkgrdCheckBills-1024x648.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5491\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LANSING \u2014\u202fSens.\u202fRosemary Bayer\u202f(D\u2013Beverly Hills),&nbsp;Stephanie Chang&nbsp;(D\u2013Detroit) and&nbsp;Jeremy Moss&nbsp;(D\u2013Southfield), along with Reps.Robert Wittenberg&nbsp;(D\u2013Huntington Woods),&nbsp;Brenda Carter&nbsp;(D\u2013Pontiac) and&nbsp;Jon Hoadley&nbsp;(D\u2013Kalamazoo) today announced a bill package to expand universal background checks for guns to cover all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pr"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - 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