In the final weeks of 2020, there was a window of opportunity for House GOP leadership to marginalize the loudest voices in the Freedom Caucus Reps. Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert and others who parroted conspiracy theories about a "stolen election."
Associated Press/Report for America
In this April 2020 file photo, armed members of a militia group watch the protest outside while waiting for the Michigan Senate to vote at the Capitol in Lansing, Mich. Michigan has banned the open carry of guns in the state Capitol a week after an armed mob rioted in the U.S. Capitol and following an attempt to storm the statehouse last year. (Nicole Hester/MLive.com/Ann Arbor News via AP File)
LANSING, Mich. (AP) A state panel Monday banned the open carry of guns in Michigan’s Capitol, a week after an armed mob rioted in the U.S. Capitol and following a plot last year to storm the statehouse.
ANNA LIZ NICHOLS
LANSING A state panel on Monday banned the open carry of guns in Michigan’s Capitol, a week after an armed mob rioted in the U.S. Capitol and following a plot last year to storm the statehouse.
Moves to ban weapons at the statehouse have been pushed since April, when protesters opposed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 restrictions, some armed with long rifles and other weapons, entered the Michigan Capitol demanding to be allowed onto the floor of a legislative chamber that was closed to the public.
The Michigan State Capitol Commission, which is responsible for overseeing the Capitol, had been reluctant to issue rules for firearms, but it shifted course Monday and issued the order to ban the open carrying of weapons.
Michigan Commission Bans Open Carry of Guns in State Capitol
The commission that manages the premises of the Michigan State Capitol adopted a policy Monday that bans open carry of guns in the building, although people with concealed-weapons permits may still bring firearms inside.
In a unanimous 6-0 vote, the Michigan Capitol Commission opted to impose the open carry ban, which goes into effect immediately. The commission argued against against adopting a full weapons ban inside the Capitol, saying its authority to do so is questionable and it lacks the budget for enforcement, which would likely require such measures as installing metal detectors at entrances, according to NPR.
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