HOLLAND (WTHC-AM/FM) — Michigan Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Twp., said she supports the Capitol Commission’s 6-0 vote to ban open-carry weapons in the Capitol building.
The vote, held Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, is in response to the events of Jan. 6 in Washington D.C.: a protest-turned-riot, at which five people died, including a U.S> Capitol police officer. A second Capitol police officer took his own life after the incident.
Some state officials had asked for the open-carry ban after armed protesters invaded the Lansing Capitol last April, but that effort failed. The D.C. riot, a bomb threat to the state Capitol earlier this month, and federal and state law-enforcement warnings of possible future violence led to Monday’s decision.
“I truly believe that what happened last year with people coming in with their huge guns was completely unacceptable,” Whiteford told WHTC, adding that Michigan is a legal open-carry state and allows people to get concealed-carry permits. She said she has a concealed-carry permit.
I think anybody whose really prudent and wants to do this right will get their CPL (concealed pistol license),” she said.
Michigan has a more-open approach to firearms than some other states, some of which have allowed open carry in their Capitols — these rules, like Michigan’s, may change this month to address concerns about violence on or near President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Whiteford said she “completely supports” the open-carry ban.
“I don’t want any of my colleagues to feel threatened,” she said. “I don’t want to feel threatened.
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