MICHIGAN COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERS "Promoting safe use and ownership of firearms through education, litigation, and legislation." MONDAY E'NEWS Legislative Issues: Background Checks Both the Michigan Legislature and the state's entire Executive Branch are now controlled by opponents of armed self-defense rights. It's likely we will see attempts to pass gun control legislation soon. The Michigan Legislature is expected to begin taking up policy items in committees by late February and early March. Shortly after the November election, MCRGO began to meet with allied gun groups to discuss strategy for the upcoming legislative session. One result of those meetings has been the creation of discussion points for educational purposes -not only directed at legislators, but also the general public, and fellow gun owners. Along with Attorney General Nessel's pledge to ban all forms of defensive carry inside the State Capitol, Governor Whitmer has listed three early firearms goals. They are: storage mandates, extreme risk protection orders, and background checks. We covered storage mandates and Red Flag in the E'News earlier this month. Today we turn our attention to the extension of background checks to the private party transfers of long guns. When discussing policy, it's helpful to focus on the practical implications of gun control laws on crime and public safety. Use these discussion points below to craft communication with your elected officials and social media posts in your own words. Your personal statements will have deeper impact than form letters sent to legislative interns for a form reply. This link will help you contact your Michigan legislators. Why MCRGO Opposes Background Check Extensions... Federal law already requires firearm dealers, regardless of location, to initiate a background check before selling or otherwise transferring a firearm to a person who is not also a licensed dealer. There is no “gun show loophole.” Federal law is the same, regardless of where a firearm sale takes place. There is no “online sales loophole." Federal law is the same, regardless of how people communicate about selling/buying a firearm. Federal law prohibits anyone – licensed firearm dealer or not – from shipping a firearm to a person who lives in another state, unless that person is also a dealer. Dealers must document all firearms they receive. Bottom line: you cannot go online, purchase a firearm, and have it legally shipped to you; it just simply doesn't work that way. Background checks don’t stop criminals from getting firearms. Federal studies have repeatedly found that persons imprisoned for firearm crimes get their firearms mostly through theft, the black market, or family members or friends. The BATF has said that nearly half of illegally trafficked firearms originate with "straw purchasers" – people who pass background checks to buy firearms for criminals. Most mass shooters who obtained their firearms legally pass background checks to acquire firearms. Background checks may deprive some individuals of the right to self-defense without due process of law, and has led to preventable injury and death in cases where law-abiding individuals, facing imminent threats, have been wrongly prevented from acquiring a firearm for self-defense in a timely manner. Michigan is one of a small minority of states that already requires background checks for the private party transfer of pistols. Michigan's existing pistol transfer registration system is disordered, misunderstood, and unevenly applied. Large numbers of pistol transfers in this state are never recorded. Of those that are, the records keeping system is a mess. Extending this failed process to the transfers of shotguns and rifles between private parties including friends and family members makes little sense. Under the proposal in Michigan, if a father hands down a family heirloom to his daughter, both could be arrested and convicted of a misdemeanor, even if they both have spotless records. Michigan is the best example in the nation to show the fallacy of restricting private transfers. Because we have the equivalent of "universal background checks" on pistols, but not long guns, and other states around us have neither, we can compare our data to that of our neighbors. If these restrictions were effective, we would expect to see a higher percentage of long guns used in crimes in Michigan as compared to other states near us, but that's not the case. It turns out, there's no difference. Extending background checks is about creating legal hurdles to deter law-abiding gun ownership, it is not about stopping bad people. And there should be no doubt as to how this law will be applied. It will be applied in the same manner as every other gun law in the state – against minorities and lower income people with a greater need to protect themselves physically and a reduced ability to protect themselves legally. Ultimately, expanded background checks make owning and possessing firearms more a legal risk for otherwise law-abiding people, while doing nothing to stop criminals who already don't use legal methods to acquire guns. UPCOMING EVENTS Outdoorama Thursday through Sunday, February 23-26, 2023 Suburban Collection Showplace; 46100 Grand River Avenue; Novi, MI Open to the public, tickets at door, MCRGO Booth Number 5467 Ultimate Sports Show Thursday through Sunday, March 9-12, 2023 DeVos Place; 303 Monroe Ave. NW; Grand Rapids, MI Open to the public, tickets at door, MCRGO Booth Number 2067 Michigan Legislative Second Amendment Caucus Picnic Saturday, June 24, 2023 from 11 AM to 1 PM [Note: New Date] Northland Sportsmen's Club; 1592 Old Alba Road, Gaylord, MI Open to MCRGO members, no RSVP is necessary. MCRGO | PO Box 14014, Lansing, MI 48901 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!