Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the first gun law in 40 years on Wednesday, as reported by a tweet from March For Our Lives organizer Joseph Kesto. The new law requires background checks for all gun sales in Michigan, including private transactions.
Whitmer was joined by Kesto and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg at Michigan State University (MSU) to sign the legislation. During the signing ceremony, Governor Whitmer high-fived Kesto, thanking him and other young activists for their efforts to make this change possible.
The move comes after several mass shootings in Michigan over the past few years, including one at a high school in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead. Since then, students and advocates across the country have been pushing for stricter gun laws to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
This new legislation is significant because it closes a loophole that allowed some individuals to purchase guns without undergoing background checks. Previously, only licensed dealers were required to conduct these checks before selling firearms.
However, not everyone is happy about the new law. Some critics argue that it infringes upon their Second Amendment rights and will not actually prevent gun violence. Others believe that more needs to be done to address mental health issues and provide better access to resources for those who may pose a danger with firearms.
Despite these concerns, Governor Whitmer sees this as an important step forward in making Michigan safer for all residents. “We know that we can’t eliminate every act of violence,” she said during the signing ceremony at MSU. “But certainly there are things we can do…to reduce harm.”
Overall, this new gun law represents a significant change in policy for Michigan and reflects growing national momentum towards tighter firearm regulations following recent tragedies like those in Parkland and Las Vegas. Whether or not it will have its intended impact remains to be seen but it highlights how young people such as Joseph Kesto advocated strongly enough so lawmakers finally took action after 40 years.