LANSING, Mich. — Getting gun-control bills through Michigan's Republican-controlled legislature won't be easy.
But a group of moms is still pushing hard to get support for what they're calling "red flag" bills.
Rick and Martha Omilian's daughter Maggie Wardle was shot and killed in a murder-suicide in 1999 at Kalamazoo College. They believe a red flag law might have kept the gun out of the shooter's hands.
"My husband and I are very active in trying to get smart laws passed so nobody else has to feel like this. This is awful," Martha Omilian said.
House Bills 4283 and 4284 were introduced in February of this year. They allow family members and police to ask a court to temporarily ban a person from having guns if they're proven to be a danger to themselves or someone else. The Omilians say that could have covered their daughter Maggie's ex-boyfriend who purchased a gun legally and shot her before killing himself.
"Somebody saw some things that should have been a warning that he was going to hurt himself before he decided to hurt our daughter," Rick Omilian said.
One in three women in Michigan report experiencing some form of intimate partner violence and access to a gun in one of these situations makes it five times more likely that she will be killed. Attorney General Dana Nessel spoke at the event, saying the issue shouldn't be a political one.
"Together, we can actually work to improve our laws so that battered woman, spouses, and our children can rest easier knowing that Michigan is looking out for them and their safety," she said.
Which is something the Omilian's have been doing since that October day in 1999.
"Even if it prevents two or three...that's two or three. Somebody's kids. I mean, I don't want to make an issue all about me or about how I feel...but every single day, I think about Maggie constantly," Martha Omilian said.
The bills are currently in the house judiciary committee. We'll keep you updated when the bill goes to the floor for a vote. To view them, click here.
Last year the National Rifle Association expressed support for the idea of red flag laws. The organization says gun owners should be allowed a full hearing before their guns are taken away, except in the most dangerous cases.
It also says owners should be guaranteed the right to an attorney at that hearing.
