LANSING, MI. — A set of bills that would keep guns out of the hands of people convicted of misdemeanor related domestic violence charges, is now on the way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's desk.
This updated set of bills would require people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors to wait a mandatory period of 8 years to complete their sentence before being allowed to possess guns or ammo.
Prior legislation in Michigan was specific to those convicted of a domestic violence related felonies.
Sponsors of the bills say the goal of this legislation is to protect victims of domestic violence from abusers.
In a press release from End Gun Violence Michigan, gathering numbers from the Michigan Violent Death Reporting System, 70 Michigan women and children are killed by an armed abuser each year, and two out of three mass shootings are related to domestic violence.
The bills have now passed both chambers and are waiting for Governor Whitmer to sign them into law.
