On Tuesday, parents of victims and survivors of the Oxford High School and Michigan State University shootings drove to Lansing for a Zoom call to share their stories and improve safe weapon storage practices and residents. He called on lawmakers to continue educating the public.
Members of the House Education Committee testified on the House bill. 5450 and 5451It would require public schools to distribute information about best practices for firearm storage, including Michigan's safe storage law requirements and information on where to obtain gun safes and gun locks.
Information is collected by the Department of Health and Human Services and distributed annually to students' parents. It will also be posted on the Michigan Department of Education's website in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Parents of Oxford High School shooting sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison
In the wake of the 2023 Michigan State University shooting, lawmakers are pushing for universal background checks, secure storage requirements, and policies that would allow for extreme risk protection orders (also known as extreme risk protection orders). , passed a number of gun safety reforms. “Red Flag” Law.
State Rep. Sharon McDonnell (D-Troy), one of the sponsors of the Safe Homes, Safe Schools package, said the bill is designed to: Complementing safe storage methods It was signed last year to ensure parents who own firearms are aware of best practices for safely storing firearms.
Jennifer and James Crumbley, parents of the Oxford High School shooter, sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison The parents were charged with manslaughter after jurors in separate trials found their actions, including failing to secure the firearms they had purchased for their son, made the shooting possible. Given these recent convictions, McDonnell said his parents are likely to have questions about how to comply with the new custody laws.
Ted Varner, the father of Alexandria Varner, who was killed in the Michigan State University shooting on February 13, 2023, came to testify before the committee. As a member of Clawson's school board, he sent pamphlets to families and shared information about the district's voluntary efforts to educate parents about safe storage policies.
“[The decision] “It was shocking at the time because right after my daughter lost her life, Clawson tried to rally my family to educate people,” Varner said.
Barner said the policy education sent to parents was neither pro-gun nor anti-gun, but merely information for gun owners on how to properly store their firearms.
Varner said he expected the initiative would receive pushback from gun control activists, but the decision received little response.
“The feedback we received from parents was, 'Thank you.' Not everyone knows how to properly store a gun,” Varner said.
Rep. Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock) pointed out in a previous committee meeting that guns are sold with locks, but Varner said not all parents use them. Ta.
“Parents put guns next to their nightstands because they feel they need to protect themselves. I can appreciate that. Clawson attracts residents from all over Oakland County and children from desired schools, making it a very diverse community. Communities are forming. Not everyone lives in a safe and clean area, so you have to protect yourself, which I totally agree with. We can do that in a safe way by protecting the.” Varner said.
Benjamin Arthur, whose daughter Phoebe was injured in the Oxford school shooting, said he had a friend at work watching over his daughter's recovery, but he didn't know about safe custody policies.
“That's not true,” Arthur said.
“How can anyone who is following this story not know about the future consequences, like the steps we took after this horrific shooting?” Arthur said. “I think it's very simple. If you send this information home with the kids, whether it's through email or through flyers that you hand out to kids, at least the message gets across.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 17, and firearms are the leading mode of injury. Unsafe firearm storage was associated with a higher risk of unintentional and intentional injury and death among children and adolescents. In 2021, 4.6 million children in the United States lived in households that reported storing a loaded or unlocked gun, and approximately 30 million children lived in a home with a gun. There is.
The committee did not vote on the two bills.
Before hearing testimony on the Safe Homes Safe Schools bill, committee members voted in favor. Bill requiring charter schools Identifying the chartering organization and educational management organization in promotional materials, signage, the footer of the charter school's website, and the application for admission. They also voted to advance a policy that would require charter schools to post average salaries for new and veteran teachers and support staff employed by education management organizations.
The 13-member committee voted to advance the House bill. 5231–5234 We handled promotional materials, websites, signage, and application requirements. Members voted 8-4 along party lines, with Rep. Brad Puckett (R-Niles) absent from the meeting.
While all eight Democrats advanced; House Bill 5269 The four Republicans in attendance passed the vote on the salary posting requirement.
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