The University of Michigan
recently increased its police
presence
following
the
Feb.
13 shooting at Michigan State
University “out of an abundance
of caution,” as noted by the
U-M Division of Public Safety
and Security in a Feb. 14 press
release. The announcement has
been met with mixed responses
from U-M students and faculty,
making it clear that not everyone
feels safer with more police on
campus.
In
a
Feb.
14
statement,
University President Santa Ono
wrote about the increased police
presence.
“Support
resources
are
available on campus for students,
faculty and staff,” Ono wrote.
“You will see an increased safety
and security presence from our
Division of Public Safety and
Security.”
Communication
to
the
campus
community
did
not
outline
exactly
how
many
additional DPSS officers have
been deployed or what other
specific precautionary measures
have been taken on campus in
response to the tragedy at MSU.
In an email to The Michigan
Daily, Melissa Overton, DPSS
deputy chief of police, said
those are not typically details
the department publicizes when
determining security needs.
“DPSS
does
not
provide
specific
details
related
to
staffing
numbers,”
Overton
wrote. “Each DPSS department
director
determines
staffing
needs through evaluating risk,
community
needs,
calls
for
service, special events, and other
factors.”
Bryan Roby, chair of the U-M
Police
Department
Oversight
Committee, shared that some
students had reported to the
PDOC
about
feeling
more
secure on campus following the
increased police presence, but
approximately the same number
of students felt uncomfortable
with the change.
“Some did say that they greatly
appreciated that there’s been an
increased presence on campus in
response to MSU but I will say
that (perspective) seemed to be
in the minority,” Roby said. “But
not a significant minority. It was
(close to) even.”
Less than 24 hours after
Ono’s statement, Public Health
researcher Peter Larson wrote
in a tweet that he didn’t believe
increased policing was the right
response.
“U of M is deploying more
cops on campus.
While this *might* improve
safety, I think locking down a
public University, with locked
doors and metal detectors and
cops everywhere is problematic.
Guns
and
policing
are
both problems. This deserves
thought.”
—
Dr.
Peter
Larson
(@
pslarson2) February 15, 2023.
Content warning: mentions of gun
violence and suicide.
Michigan
Senate
Democrats
introduced 11 bills hoping to
implement new gun regulations on
Feb. 16, three days after the shooting
at
Michigan
State
University.
Following the shooting, Democratic
legislators said they would fast-
track
gun
reform
legislation
following the tragedy at MSU.
The
three
main
concepts
highlighted in the bill package
include
universal
background
checks, safe storage requirements
and extreme risk protection orders,
or “red flag” laws. After Michigan
Democrats highlighted gun reform
as a priority for years, Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer emphasized the bills as a
top priority in her State of the State
Address in January 2023.
State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann
Arbor, told The Michigan Daily
that because universal background
check is a familiar proposal broadly
supported by the public, many
incorrectly assume it is already in
place in Michigan.
“In
Michigan,
there
are
a
number of types of sales of firearms
that don’t go through a background
check system,” Irwin said. “What
our universal background check
bill would do is establish a system
whereby every single gun sale would
need to have a background check
before the sale can be effectuated.”
Current state law only requires
gun licenses for all firearms less
than 26 inches in overall length.
Long guns and shotguns 26 inches
and over in length do not require
licenses, and no background check.
The safe storage requirement
bills state that if you live in a place
a child would have access to, you
must secure your firearm in a
locked location.
Irwin said there are a couple
of bills that provide favorable tax
treatment to those purchasing
storage equipment. Irwin is a
sponsor of Bills 551 and 552, which
propose that gun owners should not
have to pay sales tax on safe storage
equipment.
The extreme risk protection
order bills, which are included in
the overarching bill rights package,
would allow certain individuals
— namely family members or
members of law enforcement — to
make a complaint about a person in
possession of a gun who they have
evidence is likely to cause harm to
themselves or others. Irwin said
the bill states this complaint must
have the support of a judge’s order
and can result in the firearm being
temporarily removed from the
individual’s home.
“Someone with knowledge of
someone who is likely to cause
harm … can bring (that knowledge)
forward and then there is a process
through the courts where a judge
has to hear the evidence,” Irwin
said. “These laws have been in
place in a number of other states,
even very conservative states like
Florida.”
LSA sophomore Mikah Rector-
Brooks, press associate for March
for Our Lives, a non-profit focused
on ending gun and police violence,
told The Daily MFOL hopes the bills
pass as soon as possible. Rector-
Brooks said these bills support
proven methods to reduce gun
violence, not just for mass shootings
but also for reducing everyday gun
violence.
“This package (of bills) is the
floor, not the ceiling,” Rector-
Brooks said. “It’s simply the first
step, we need so much more after
this. And we at (MFOL) intend to
keep on pushing for more because
Michigan is so far behind (on
legislation) compared to other
states.”
Although
these
bills
have
been proposed in years prior,
Republicans have controlled the
Michigan Senate since 1983 until
January 2023 and have rejected the
bills in the past. With Michigan’s
“Democratic trifecta,” Irwin said
there is a chance to rediscuss the
gun reform bills.
“This is the first time in 40
years we’ve had any opportunity
whatsoever to even have a debate
about gun safety laws in the
Michigan legislature,” Irwin said.
Members of the Great Lakes Gun
Rights group have been reported
saying they are planning to launch
recall
campaigns
against
any
lawmakers who vote to support the
gun regulation bill package.
LSA
sophomore
Jade
Gray,
co-chair of the University’s chapter
of College Democrats, wrote in an
email to The Daily that gun violence
is a pressing matter which needs
to be addressed. Gray said she,
along with College Democrats, is
in full support of the bill legislation
recently introduced in the Michigan
legislature.
“The scale of gun violence that
we have been desensitized and
familiarized with is unique to the
U.S. and to the experience of our
generation,” Gray wrote. “The state
of Michigan was rocked a week ago
after tragic gun violence at MSU …
The time for thoughts and prayers is
over. We must act now and pass gun
violence prevention legislation.”
The
University’s
chapter
of
College
Republicans
did
not
respond for comment in time for
publication.
A Michigan man allegedly
threatened, on Twitter, to kill
Jewish members of the Michigan
State Government in February,
according to the FBI. Michigan
Attorney General Dana Nessel
claimed on Thursday that she was
one of the individuals targeted.
The
FBI
National
Threat
Operations Center alerted the
Detroit FBI office to the threat
on Feb. 18. According to the
FBI’s affidavit in support of the
individual’s arrest, a Twitter
user with the account handle @
tempered_reason posted a tweet
on Feb. 17 claiming he was on
his way to the state of Michigan
with the intent to harm those in
the Michigan government who
identify as Jewish.
The
individual
was
later
identified by the FBI as a former
University of Michigan employee
named Jack Eugene Carpenter
III. In an email to The Michigan
Daily, University spokesperson
Kim Broekhuizen wrote that
Carpenter was employed by the
University for 10 years, working
as
a
systems
administrator
intermediate in LSA. Carpenter’s
employment ended in 2021.
In a tweet Thursday, Nessel
said she was one of the
individuals
Carpenter
was
targeting.
According to the affidavit, the
FBI worked with Jewish political
and community leaders to notify
potential targets in the Michigan
government after the tweet was
posted. Carpenter was arrested
and charged with committing an
interstate threat as he was found
to have been in Texas at the time
he sent the tweets. Carpenter
is currently being held without
bail in a federal court in Detroit
where he awaits trial. If found
guilty l, Carpenter could receive
up to five years in federal prison.
According
to
Assistant
U.S.
Attorney
Hank
Moon,
government officials found six
firearms and ammunition in
Carpenter’s vehicle when he was
arrested.
The
threat
to
Michigan
officials
echoes
an
increase
in anti-semitic attacks across
the
country.
The
Anti-
Defamation League, an anti-
hate organization that focuses
on fighting antisemitism in all
forms, found that antisemitic
attacks reached a record high in
the U.S. in 2021. There have been
many similar attacks against
Jewish people in the past few
months.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXXII, No. 106
©2023 The Michigan Daily
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A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Michigan Democrats introduce 11 gun safety bills
Michigan Senate Democrats introduced 11 bills aiming to prevent gun violence
GOVERNMENT
RILEY HODDER
Daily News Editor
SNEHA DHANDAPANI
Daily Staff Reporter
Michigan man threatens Jewish
members of Michigan State Government
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel included in threat
against Jewish members of Michigan State Government
GOVERNMENT
Campus react to
increased police presence at UMich
U-M community members discuss additional DPSS
members on campus following MSU shooting
PUBLIC SAFETY
FILE PHOTO/Daily
SEJAL PATIL
Daily News Editor
ANNA FUDER/Daily
Attorney General Dana Nessel addresses voters at the U of M Dems Rally on the Diag Nov. 4.
ALUM DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com