Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is reportedly seeking $5 million within an expansive coronavirus economic relief package to enforce a ban on citizens bringing guns to the state Capitol.
The Democrat vowed in a press conference earlier in the week that both she and her liberal allies would bring the proposal for approval in the Republican-majority legislature. The request, which would be part of a larger $5.6 billion package, would fund enhanced security measures and equipment at the Capitol in Lansing, Michigan.
On Jan. 11, the Michigan State Capitol Commission unanimously enacted a ban on the carrying of firearms on Capitol grounds following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer, died amid the chaos. The $5 million price tag, which triples $1.5 million cost estimates given to officials by law enforcement, would allow for the purchase and installation of metal detectors and other devices seen in various other government buildings.
However, Vice Chairman John Truscott said it’s unlikely that the gun ban will be revisited even if the funding is not approved. Republican State House Speaker Jason Wentworth raised questions about whether the commission has the authority to vote on such a prohibition, but others have backed the proposal.
Some have gone further and brought forth a potential ban on concealed carry on Capitol grounds, but Truscott, who is reluctant to adopt such a measure, said lawmakers would be treading on “a much different legal question.”
The recovery plan itself includes $90 million for vaccine distribution, $575 million to expand testing, $225 million for small business support in addition to money for unemployment, food assistance, and rental aid, among other things.
The move follows a host of demonstrations at the state Capitol, some of which involved armed parties, to protest the governor’s stringent virus lockdown protocols. In late April, hundreds of protesters descended on Lansing, Michigan, and eventually entered the government building, chanting “let us work” in a fiery display captured in photographs and video. Some in the crowd sported rifles, which was legal at the time.
Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today. #mileg pic.twitter.com/voOZpPYWOs
— Senator Dayna Polehanki (@SenPolehanki) April 30, 2020
In March, Whitmer shuttered non-essential businesses, restricted the purchase of items deemed unnecessary for basic needs, and subjected residents to strict social distancing protocols.
Six men were charged in an alleged foiled plot to kidnap the governor in October following frustration with Whitmer’s virus protocols. The group “talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” in addition to amassing 200 men to storm the state Capitol and try people for treason, prosecutors said at the time.
