LANSING, Mich. (AP) – A state panel on Monday banned open arms carrying on the Michigan Capitol, a week after an armed mob revolted on the US Capitol and after a conspiracy last year to invade the government chamber.
Initiatives to ban weapons in the state chamber have been promoted since April, when protesters oppose Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions, some armed with long rifles and other weapons, entered the Michigan Capitol demanding permission to enter the plenary of a legislative chamber that was closed to the public.
The Michigan State Capitol Commission, responsible for overseeing the Capitol, was reluctant to issue firearms rules, but changed course on Monday and issued the order to ban open arms carrying.
A spokesman for Senate majority leader Mike Shirkey, who previously said the commission should not be responsible for creating arms policies, said last week that he would support an open transport ban after violence erupted on US Capitol Hill. USA by a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump.
A spokeswoman for the new mayor, Jason Wentworth, said she wants everyone to stick to the rule, although she does not believe the commission has the right to issue it.
“The speaker is grateful for the work of the Capitol Commission, but it has no authority to set policies on Capitol Hill,” said Lynn Afendoulis in a press release. ”The speaker will be looking for options to deal with this advance. In the meantime, the Michigan State Police will enforce the new decision. “
The commission’s vice president, John Truscott, said the commission does not write policies, but is ready to address general security issues. He said the state government will have to finance it.
“We don’t have a budget for security measures, so in reality, the governor and the legislature would have to deal with that,” said Truscott. “We went as far as we could with the budget constraints that we have.”
Some of the anti-government extremists accused of a plot to kidnap Whitmer carried weapons in blockade protests at the Capitol last spring. Prosecutors say the accused leader initially spoke of recruiting 200 men to break into the building, take hostages and “execute tyrants”. A secondary plan involved locking out exits and setting fire to the government palace, according to court documents.
The FBI warned plans for armed protests in all state capitals and Washington, DC, in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Michigan State Police will increase their visible and invisible presence on Capitol Hill in the coming weeks, spokeswoman Shanon Banner said in an email on Monday.
The Michigan Democratic Party issued a statement saying that while it applauds the fact that the commission “finally put its authority to use”, that is not enough and that all firearms must be banned within the Capitol.
Senator Dayna Polehanki made an effort to ban all firearms from the Capitol, introducing legislation last year that died in the session. The Livonia Democrat said on the Monday before the panel vote that an open transport ban does not go far enough and will lead to a false sense of security for those who work and visit the Capitol.
“Bullets are bullets,” she said, regardless of the type of weapon the person is carrying.
“There is no reason for any weapon to belong to the Capitol, it is absurd, the world thinks it is absurd,” said Polehanki. “I am sick of this being considered a viable action.”
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Anna Liz Nichols is a member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that puts journalists in local newsrooms to report on covert issues.
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Associated Press writer David Eggert contributed to this report.