The Michigan State Capitol Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to ban weapons from the state Capitol, but added a carveout for current House and Senate lawmakers who have a concealed carry permit.
The prohibition on weapons for Capitol visitors and staffers replaces a policy adopted in 2021 that prohibited the open carry of firearms but still allowed for concealed weapons by anyone visiting the statehouse.
The commission installed pass through weapons detection devices last week at the main entrances to the state Capitol in preparation for the ban, which up until Wednesday was expected to apply to anyone entering the Capitol.
The amendment adding the carveout for lawmakers passed 4-2, with Commissioners William Kandler and Joan Bauer voting against it. It’s unclear how many lawmakers have concealed carry permits.
Kandler said current protections for members of the House and Senate are “adequate,” arguing lawmakers are “probably the most protected people in the city, maybe in the state,” with three police forces within the Capitol protecting them.
“That language will allow potentially an additional 150 guns in the state Capitol building, not in the city, in one building,” said Kandler. “I just don’t think that’s appropriate and it’s counter to the whole purpose.”
Commissioner Tim Bowlin, who introduced the amendment, said he’d been approached by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers who carry concealed weapons and felt the ability to continue doing so was critical for their safety. He said there were some concerns raised about whether the policy would constitute a undue impediment to a member’s ability to vote on the House floor.
“Would I like to see the entire Capitol and the grounds gun free? I would,” said Bowlin, who serves as director for the Senate Business Office. “This is all about taking steps and I think this was the first step, hopefully, in a series of steps that the commission will take over the next year or two to make this building safer.”
Bowlin said Capitol staff are still developing policies regarding how a lawmaker would prove they had a concealed carry permit — whether security would keep a list or whether lawmakers would have to show a permit upon each entrance.
Great Lakes Gun Rights criticized the policy at large and the prohibitions it places on law-abiding gun owners visiting the Capitol.
“We still believe that the Michigan Capitol Commission is usurping authority it doesn’t have to pass this (ban) and exempting lawmakers from the ban proves that they don’t have the authority that they think they do,” said Brenden Boudreau of Great Lakes Gun Rights. “This is political theater and nothing else.”
Some lawmakers had threatened litigation should the commission ban them from carrying their concealed pistols around the Capitol complex.
State Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, told WKAR’s Off The Record last week that she’d hired a lawyer as she explored her options to continue carrying a concealed weapon inside the Capitol.
“I have to be in the Capitol to vote to represent my people,” Hoitenga said. “… They’re going to have a real hard time presenting an argument where they can stop me from coming in to do my constitutional duty of voting.”
The vote Wednesday comes roughly a week after the commission and House leadership installed pass-through weapons detection devices at the main entrance to the Capitol, Heritage Hall and at the House Office Building. Additional technology, including secondary X-ray, security camera software and wand devices are expected to be installed at a later date so that all entrances into the Capitol are covered.
The commission is paying about $170,000 annually for lease of the pass through equipment at the Capitol and Heritage Hall, while the House paid about $100,000 for its equipment at the office building. The Senate Office Building still is exploring its security options, Bowlin said.
Concerns over the continued presence of firearms at the Capitol arose in 2020, after an April 30, 2020 pandemic lockdown protest flooded into the state Capitol with many of the demonstrators openly carrying firearms and trying to gain entrance to the chamber floor. Some men with rifles slung over their shoulders stood in the Senate gallery, overlooking the senators.
Nessel later that year informed the commission it had the authority to limit or ban guns at the Capitol under its responsibility toward the safety of individuals visiting the Capitol.
Months later, after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the commission voted unanimously to ban the open carry of firearms within the state Capitol. Open carry was and still is allowed on Capitol grounds and, under the 2021 policy, concealed carry was allowed to continue within the Capitol.
The commission, as of last month, intended to do away with the concealed carry carveout for all individuals inside the Capitol before changing course Wednesday and allowing lawmakers to continue carrying.
Sen. Dayna Polehanki, a Livonia Democrat who has been vocal opponent of firearms in the Capitol, said Wednesday that the commission’s vote achieved the goal of banning guns in the Capitol.
“I never again want to experience what my colleagues, our floor staffers, and I went through on April 30, 2020, when heavily armed men occupied the balconies of our chambers in an attempt to intimidate us and prevent us from voting on behalf of our constituents,” Polehanki said in a statement. “The Capitol Commission’s vote to ban all firearms from the Michigan Capitol — not just the open carry of firearms — is the right thing to do to protect our staffers and the thousands of kids who tour the Capitol every year.”
Other Capitol firearm rules tightened in March, about a month after the Michigan State University shooting, when House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, said staffers would no longer be able to carry a firearm or other weapons on House property under a new policy.
Tate’s prohibition applies to staff only and still allows visitors and lawmakers visiting the House Office Building to carry concealed weapons, even with the installation of new weapons detection devices, said Amber McCann, a spokeswoman for Tate. A concealed carry ban in the House Office Building would require legislation banning firearms from the building.
Bowlin said the Senate is facing the same restrictions when it comes to any potential bans for the Binsfield Office Building, where most Senate offices are located. Thus far, the Senate has refrained from installing weapons detection devices in the building until it has a set policy or legislation outlining who can carry in the building.
There are currently bills pending in both the House and Senate to ban firearms in government buildings.
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