Marcy Wheeler points out that the Michigan legislature – the one that just rammed through right-to-work – also passed a massive expansion of concealed carry rights.
Changes to the concealed weapons law passed the state House and Senate late Thursday, allowing trained gun owners to carry their weapons in formerly forbidden places, such as schools, day care centers, stadiums and churches. Schools, however, and privately owned facilities could opt out of the new law if they don’t want people carrying guns in their buildings.
It’s a reminder that the recent trend in gun laws has been toward expansion. Dramatically so. The 2010 Republican wave allowed a series of stalled bills to sail through the states. In 2011, Kansas and Nevada made it legal to “purchase long guns in non-contiguous states,” Wyoming passed a “permitless carry” law, Arizona, North Dakota and Kentucky made it easier for people who’d lost their gun rights due to “mental illness committments” to get those rights restored. Maine, Texas, Indiana and North Dakota made it legal for gun owners to keep their weapons in their cars. Oklahoma and Alabama protected their citizens from “illegal gun raids.”
There’s a 4:30 vigil planned for today, outside the White House. The vigil was inspired by pro-gun control groups, who have been saying the same things for two years, and constantly losing.
