{"id":91964,"date":"2023-04-18T16:37:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T21:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=91964"},"modified":"2023-04-18T16:37:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T21:37:43","slug":"91964","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=91964","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Gun groups sue Michigan Legislature over firearm bills, alleging open meetings violations<\/a><\/p>\n

A pair of Michigan-based pro-firearm organizations, Great Lakes Gun Rights and Michigan Open Carry, Inc., have sued the state Legislature over its passage of\u00a0gun safety bills<\/a>\u00a0recently signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, arguing lawmakers violated the Open Meetings Act by not properly allowing public comment on the legislation.<\/p>\n

Last week, Whitmer signed legislation<\/a>\u00a0expanding background checks on firearm purchases and creating criminal penalties for gun owners who fail to keep firearms out of the hands of minors, commonly referred to as “safe storage” laws. A third proposal to temporarily confiscate guns from those deemed a risk to themselves or others by a court is also\u00a0making its way through the Legislature<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit filed Thursday in the Michigan Court of Claims aims to get a temporary restraining order against the gun safety bills and laws.<\/p>\n

Plaintiffs allege both the House and Senate judiciary committees violated Michigan’s open meeting laws by not allowing opposition testimony during some of the hearings before the bills were voted on.<\/p>\n

Committees in each chamber held hearings on the bills in March and April. In each, members heard mostly from supporters of the legislation. Groups, including speakers from Great Lakes Gun Rights and Michigan Open Carry, submitted cards in opposition but were unable to speak during an April 12 hearing on the so-called “red flag” bills. Lawmakers cited time constraints.<\/p>\n

“Defendants have, and continue, to blatantly favor testimony from parties in support of Defendants\u2019 own viewpoints while openly suppressing and outright denying testimony from Plaintiffs and others critical of Defendants\u2019 viewpoint,” wrote Thomas Lambert, an attorney representing the gun groups in the lawsuit. “This is in direct contravention of the Open Meetings Act\u2019s unambiguous mandate that ‘a person must be permitted to address a meeting of a public body,’ which unquestionably includes Defendants.”<\/p>\n

The groups are seeking an\u00a0ex parte<\/em>\u00a0motion, meaning they seek an order from the court before defendants can provide a brief of their own.<\/p>\n