Democrats in the Michigan Senate want Republican colleagues punished for questioning election results
Updated Jan 13, 2021;
Posted Jan 13, 2021
GOP Chair Meshawn Maddock films inside while election challengers allege blockage from bipartisan poll watching Wednesday Nov. 4, 2020 at the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan. Nicole Hester/Mlive.com
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LANSING, MI - The first day of a new Michigan Legislature’s session usually involves procedural votes and some introduction of new bills.
The start of the 2021 session Wednesday was a stark departure, as some Senate Democrats urged for a punishment for the 11 Republican colleagues that asked for further investigation of unfound claims of election fraud hours before Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol last week.
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The commission that manages the common areas of the Michigan Capitol adopted a policy Monday that bans openly carrying guns throughout much of the building, but with little hope the decision actually settled the question.
The Michigan State Capitol Commission voted 6-0 to adopt the new policy following the armed assault on the U.S. Capitol last week and people with guns swarming the state Capitol last April.
Under the new policy, only law enforcement and people with valid concealed pistol licenses may carry a gun into the Capitol. The commission opted against a stricter prohibition, arguing its power to adopt a full ban appears sketchy and it has no budget to take actions such as installing metal detectors at public entrances.
The FBI has received information indicating "armed protests" are being planned at all 50 state capitols and the US Capitol in Washington, DC in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, according to an internal bulletin obtained by CNN.
Democrats say it doesn t go far enough. Republicans say it goes too far. After armed protests in Lansing and a violent riot in D.C., Michigan s Capitol bans open carry, joining a majority of states.
ABC57 News in South Bend, Ind. covers all of Michiana including St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaPorte and Marshall counties in Indiana and Berrien, Cass, Van Buren and St. Joseph counties in Mich.