Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threw her support behind a movement to ban firearms in the state Capitol following armed protests last week.
“There are legislators who are wearing bulletproof vests to go to work,” Whitmer, a Democrat, told NBC News in an interview published Wednesday. “No one should be intimidated by someone who’s bringing in an assault rifle into their workplace. And so there is conversation about changing that law.”
“I think it’s long overdue, and I absolutely support that change,” she continued. “You shouldn’t be intimidated going to be the voice of the people who elected you.”
Michigan is an open-carry state, meaning that gun owners are allowed to carry weapons in the Capitol. The Michigan Capitol Commission has asked for legal guidance as to how the legislature could go about making such changes.
During recent protests against Whitmer’s coronavirus stay-at-home order, armed protesters gathered inside the state Capitol building and chanted “let us in” while trying to get onto the House floor.
The armed protests have been criticized across the ideological spectrum, including Fox News host Sean Hannity. Libertarian candidate for president Justin Amash also condemned the protests, calling the armed gatherings “a terrible idea.”
Whitmer would need to get the support of the Republican-controlled House and Senate to make such a change. Some Republicans seem open to supporting the measure. John Truscott, a Republican member of the Capitol Commission, told WILS-AM, “We do not like seeing guns brought into the building — loaded guns — and I’m a Second Amendment advocate.”
