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Ballot initiative threatens gun rights
The following letter and article were sent to MCRGO by a pro-gun legislator's office with the request that it be relayed to you all.
Beware Proposal 002! When they say "home rule" they really mean your local government's power to RULE whether and which guns may be in your HOME.
The Michigan Municipal League (MML) which is sponsoring the proposal is not a friend of the Second Amendment or Article One, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution.
This proposal would make it impossible to limit city efforts to get around the state local gun control preemption, using new
"anti-violence" laws.
"Ballot proposal may reignite gun lawsuit," Detroit News. http://detnews.com/2000/metro/0008/02/d08-99546.htm
Detroit News, Aug. 2, 2000
by Amy Franklin, AP, Lansing bureau.
Mayor Dennis Archer was unable to keep the state lawmakers from approving legislation barring local gun suits, but a ballot would stop the state from restricting local authority. A constitutional amendment on the Nov. 7 ballot would require a two-thirds vote by the Legislature for approval of legislation that restricts or eliminates local authority. The proposal also could:
· Bring about a review of any legislation enacted by the Legislature after March 1 that limits or eliminates local power.
· Prompt a court challenge to a law recently signed by Gov. John Engler that restricts the filing of lawsuits against the gun industry.
· Allow the city of Detroit and Wayne County to regain the right to continue their cases against the gun industry that was taken away in the new law.
· Wayne County and the city of Detroit may have another chance to take on the gun industry if Michigan voters approve a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
They effectively lost that right earlier this year, when Gov. John Engler signed a law that restricts lawsuits against gun makers and dealers unless they're filed by the Michigan attorney general's office.
The law paves the way for a judge to dismiss Wayne County's $400 million lawsuit against gun manufacturers. The suit accuses gun manufacturers of failing to stop gun sales where buyers act as fronts for felons and juveniles.
Faced with what they see as an attempt by state lawmakers to steal some of their power of local rule, municipal and township officials gathered enough petition signatures to put a measure on the ballot that would keep state lawmakers from passing new laws that would limit or eliminate local power unless they can get two-thirds to agree in the House and Senate.
"It goes back to the very beginnings of common law," said Don Stypula, campaign director for the proposal for the Michigan Municipal League. "Filing a lawsuit on behalf of taxpayers to achieve some type of objective or grievance is critical."
But critics, including heavy-duty opposition from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal would result in a patchwork of local laws and regulations that would hurt business and make the rules they have to follow more arbitrary.
Rich Studley, vice-president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the vague language in the proposed constitutional amendment could reach beyond the gun lawsuit law, invalidating more than 200 bills pending in the House and Senate.
"I think what would happen to Representative Tabor's bill is a good example of the unknown and unintended consequences of this drastic proposal," he said.
Some proposal opponents have argued that altering the state constitution to require a two-thirds vote to pass bills should be limited to special circumstances.
Now, a two-thirds vote is rarely needed unless lawmakers want to put an issue on the ballot.
An effort by Engler to require a two-thirds vote to increase taxes was unsuccessful.
So far, the only law affected by the local governments ballot proposal would be the ban on gun lawsuits, since the amendment would apply to legislation enacted after March 1.
Local officials lost the right last year to require city employees to live within the city limits.
But that law would stay in place even if the ballot proposal passes because it became law before March 1.
If the ballot proposal passes, lawmakers could try to pass the gun lawsuit ban again, but would have to have more votes in the House and Senate to get it through.
That new law also includes a requirement that trigger locks be included with the sale of new firearms.
State Rep. Sue Tabor, R-Grand Ledge, sponsored the bill. She said Detroit and Wayne County officials are pushing the ballot proposal that would overturn it simply so they can regain the right to file lawsuits against the gun manufacturers.
"This highlights that the City of Detroit wants it both ways. ... They're suggesting that they can change the legislative process because they don't like something that we did," Tabor said. "I am angry about it."
Wayne County Deputy Executive Mike Duggan and a spokesman for Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer could not be reached for comment.
Tabor is talking to her constituents about what the ballot initiative means, something she said a lot of people don't know. "This is just terrible," she said of the measure. "It's a self-serving ballot initiative."
MCRGO NOTE:
This proposal would certainly also kill off any shall-issue CCW bill that we pass this year and keep any other pro-gun bills from passing. It would mean that any local city or county could ban guns within their borders or prohibit carry, even with a permit. Cities like Detroit, Flint, and Ann Arbor could even ban all handgun OWNERSHIP within their bounds just like New York City and Washington D.C. do. This is what the anti's want. This is what you the voter have to stop. Spread the word: Come November, vote "NO" on Proposal 2.
Ballot initiative threatens gun rights
The following letter and article were sent to MCRGO by a pro-gun legislator's office with the request that it be relayed to you all.
Beware Proposal 002! When they say "home rule" they really mean your local government's power to RULE whether and which guns may be in your HOME.
The Michigan Municipal League (MML) which is sponsoring the proposal is not a friend of the Second Amendment or Article One, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution.
This proposal would make it impossible to limit city efforts to get around the state local gun control preemption, using new
"anti-violence" laws.
"Ballot proposal may reignite gun lawsuit," Detroit News. http://detnews.com/2000/metro/0008/02/d08-99546.htm
Detroit News, Aug. 2, 2000
by Amy Franklin, AP, Lansing bureau.
Mayor Dennis Archer was unable to keep the state lawmakers from approving legislation barring local gun suits, but a ballot would stop the state from restricting local authority. A constitutional amendment on the Nov. 7 ballot would require a two-thirds vote by the Legislature for approval of legislation that restricts or eliminates local authority. The proposal also could:
· Bring about a review of any legislation enacted by the Legislature after March 1 that limits or eliminates local power.
· Prompt a court challenge to a law recently signed by Gov. John Engler that restricts the filing of lawsuits against the gun industry.
· Allow the city of Detroit and Wayne County to regain the right to continue their cases against the gun industry that was taken away in the new law.
· Wayne County and the city of Detroit may have another chance to take on the gun industry if Michigan voters approve a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
They effectively lost that right earlier this year, when Gov. John Engler signed a law that restricts lawsuits against gun makers and dealers unless they're filed by the Michigan attorney general's office.
The law paves the way for a judge to dismiss Wayne County's $400 million lawsuit against gun manufacturers. The suit accuses gun manufacturers of failing to stop gun sales where buyers act as fronts for felons and juveniles.
Faced with what they see as an attempt by state lawmakers to steal some of their power of local rule, municipal and township officials gathered enough petition signatures to put a measure on the ballot that would keep state lawmakers from passing new laws that would limit or eliminate local power unless they can get two-thirds to agree in the House and Senate.
"It goes back to the very beginnings of common law," said Don Stypula, campaign director for the proposal for the Michigan Municipal League. "Filing a lawsuit on behalf of taxpayers to achieve some type of objective or grievance is critical."
But critics, including heavy-duty opposition from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal would result in a patchwork of local laws and regulations that would hurt business and make the rules they have to follow more arbitrary.
Rich Studley, vice-president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the vague language in the proposed constitutional amendment could reach beyond the gun lawsuit law, invalidating more than 200 bills pending in the House and Senate.
"I think what would happen to Representative Tabor's bill is a good example of the unknown and unintended consequences of this drastic proposal," he said.
Some proposal opponents have argued that altering the state constitution to require a two-thirds vote to pass bills should be limited to special circumstances.
Now, a two-thirds vote is rarely needed unless lawmakers want to put an issue on the ballot.
An effort by Engler to require a two-thirds vote to increase taxes was unsuccessful.
So far, the only law affected by the local governments ballot proposal would be the ban on gun lawsuits, since the amendment would apply to legislation enacted after March 1.
Local officials lost the right last year to require city employees to live within the city limits.
But that law would stay in place even if the ballot proposal passes because it became law before March 1.
If the ballot proposal passes, lawmakers could try to pass the gun lawsuit ban again, but would have to have more votes in the House and Senate to get it through.
That new law also includes a requirement that trigger locks be included with the sale of new firearms.
State Rep. Sue Tabor, R-Grand Ledge, sponsored the bill. She said Detroit and Wayne County officials are pushing the ballot proposal that would overturn it simply so they can regain the right to file lawsuits against the gun manufacturers.
"This highlights that the City of Detroit wants it both ways. ... They're suggesting that they can change the legislative process because they don't like something that we did," Tabor said. "I am angry about it."
Wayne County Deputy Executive Mike Duggan and a spokesman for Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer could not be reached for comment.
Tabor is talking to her constituents about what the ballot initiative means, something she said a lot of people don't know. "This is just terrible," she said of the measure. "It's a self-serving ballot initiative."
MCRGO NOTE:
This proposal would certainly also kill off any shall-issue CCW bill that we pass this year and keep any other pro-gun bills from passing. It would mean that any local city or county could ban guns within their borders or prohibit carry, even with a permit. Cities like Detroit, Flint, and Ann Arbor could even ban all handgun OWNERSHIP within their bounds just like New York City and Washington D.C. do. This is what the anti's want. This is what you the voter have to stop. Spread the word: Come November, vote "NO" on Proposal 2.