DECEMBER 23 • 2021 | 19

before beginning the Michigan Giffords 
chapter, the Novi resident was the victim of 
a shooting while investigating a drug sale, 
has lost friends to self-inflicted gunshots 
and knew victims in the 2016 Orlando 
Pulse nightclub mass shooting. He said 
most of the country’s gun owners want to 
see common sense gun control reform to 
avoid yet another mass or school shooting 
as witnessed in Oxford, but Republicans in 
Lansing are impeding legislation from mov-
ing forward.
“The Republicans in Lansing will not let 
policy reform on guns get out of commit-
tee,
” said Gold, 51, of Novi. “They will not 
let them be heard on the state floor, and 
we are talking about common sense things 
like making sure weapons are locked and 
kept away, and those who are convicted of 
a domestic violence felony should not be 
allowed to purchase a gun.
” 
Examples of such legislation, which have 
been proposed by the Michigan Firearm 
Safety and Violence Prevention Caucus 
since 2016, include requiring guns to be 
properly stowed and locked, barring those 
convicted of domestic abuse from purchas-
ing a gun, and implementing in Michigan 
the Red Flag law, which allows courts or law 
enforcement to confiscate guns from own-
ers if there is proof the gun owner could be 
of danger to themselves or others. 
Red Flag laws exist in civil courts to 
temporarily take away the firearms of a 
loved one in a mental health crisis who may 
harm themselves or others. According to 
Pew Charitable Trusts, as of 2021, 19 states 
and the District of Columbia have adopted 
Red Flag laws. Fourteen of those laws came 
after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, 
Florida.
In further efforts, the Michigan Firearm 
Safety and Violence Prevention, chaired by 
Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D–Beverly Hills) and 
Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac), announced 
the introduction of more bills that might 
help prevent future gun violence and trage-
dies on Dec. 9.
Senate Bills 785 and 786, intro-
duced by Sens. Bayer and Jeremy 
Moss (D-Southfield), respectively, and 
House Bills 5627 and 5628, introduced by 
Reps. Cynthia A. Johnson (D-Detroit) and 
Carter, would prohibit selling or possessing 
a magazine capable of holding more than 10 

rounds of ammunition, beginning on Jan. 1, 
2023. Currently in Michigan, semiautomat-
ic firearms with high-capacity magazines 
can be purchased without any background 
check or sale record.

GUN OWNERS SPEAK OUT
According to the Centers for Disease 
Control, in 2020 more than 45,000 people 
were killed by guns, a 15 percent increase 
from 2019. In 2019, the CDC reported 
38,826 gun-related deaths nationwide; in 
Michigan in 2019, there were 1,187 gun 
deaths. About 60 percent of these deaths 
were suicides. 
“Responsible gun owners have to come 
out and come to the table to clean up the 
mess that has been created by irresponsible 
gun culture,
” Gold said. “
As responsible 
gun owners, we believe that the public 
safety is just as important as our Second 
Amendment rights, and that means han-
dling and storing guns in a safe responsible 
manner. It also means that it is not accept-
able to open carry a weapon to the grounds 
of a state capitol or to a protest to intimidate 
politicians or those expressing their First 
Amendment rights. That’s not what it is 

about.
” 
Gold said he is averse to gun rights 
advocates who believe that the Second 
Amendment cannot be infringed upon, 
though it is written as such in the 
Constitution. 
“There is not one Amendment in the 
Constitution that has not been interpreted 
or regulated,
” said Gold. “For example, one 
cannot practice their freedom of speech by 
yelling fire in a crowded theater. No child 
should fear for their lives when they are at 
school. The tragedy in Oxford, Michigan, 
was preventable. As responsible gun own-
ers, we must stand up to protect children 
from the devastating effects of gun violence. 
“Giving a child access to guns, without 
proper supervision, endangers that child 
and those around them and possibly the 
entire community. Responsible gun owners 
must fight for comprehensive gun safety 
laws that save lives. Michigan deserves 
better, our children deserve better and 
America deserves better.
” 

For more information on upcoming events in 

Michigan with Giffords, go to www.giffords.org. or 

email gunowners@giffords.org.

