gun control

Today on Stateside, we talk to a state senator who wants to see Michigan enact so-called "red flag laws," which allow police to seize firearms from those deemed a threat to themselves or others. Plus, Detroit’s Mosaic Youth Theatre revives one of its most popular productions in honor of Motown Records' 60th birthday.

Lawmakers are pushing for stricter gun regulations following this weekend’s two mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas.

Among them is state Senator Rosemary Bayer from Beverly Hills, Michigan. She’s introduced a package of gun control bills in the Michigan Senate. State Representative Robert Wittenberg has introduced matching bills in the House.

Today on Stateside, how should Congress respond in the aftermath of two mass shootings this weekend that left more than 30 people dead in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio? Plus, with the controversy surrounding CTE and other brain damage in professional football players, should parents be worried about their kid's safety in the sport? 

State representative Robert Wittenberg, D-Huntington Woods,  introduced gun legislation on Wednesday that he said will help prevent mass shootings and suicides.

Today on Stateside, the co-sponsor of a gun safety bill introduced in the Michigan House explains what his proposed legislation would do to address gun violence. Plus, how a Grand Rapids conference is helping people love and accept their bodies exactly as they are. 

Governor Snyder released a plan yesterday to improve safety in Michigan schools following the Parkland, Florida school shooting.

His $20 million plan calls for boosting security at hundreds of schools, setting up a task force to come up with more ways to improve school security between now and the end of the year, more training for school administrators and school resource officers, and expanding the OK2SAY tip line.

The governor says he intentionally stayed away from guns.

Larry Nassar's former boss Dr. William Strampel has been charged with a felony and three misdemeanors. Strampel denies the charges. Michigan Radio's Rebecca Kruth and senior news analyst Jack Lessenberry discuss new developments in the Michigan State University sex abuse case.

Thousands of students in Michigan walked out of their classrooms last week to protest gun violence. They don’t want guns in schools, and they especially want assault rifles banned.

Personally, I would probably go even farther. I don’t think anyone should be allowed to own an assault rifle, except if it were kept under lock and key at a shooting range.

But the tragedy of the student protests is this:

Nobody wants to say this, but they aren’t going to go anywhere. The lobbyists of the NRA can count votes. They are mostly silent now, except for the stupidest among them.

All across the country, students and some teachers stood up at 10 a.m., walked out of their classrooms, and spent the next 17 minutes honoring the 17 people killed in the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.

Many schools in Michigan took part in this national school walkout, demanding action from lawmakers on school safety and guns.

The Trump administration has rolled out its plan to respond to violence and guns in our schools. It wants to provide firearms training to some teachers. But it has backed off on making major changes to gun legislation: For example, there’s nothing about raising the minimum age to buy guns from 18 to 21.

Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz has admitted killing 17 people, President Trump said he was in favor of raising the minimum age but backed off after meeting with the National Rifle Association.

When a young person commits a crime, one common response is to blame video games, especially violent video games, for the criminal act.

The recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was no exception. On Thursday, President Trump will convene a meeting with video game industry leaders at the White House. The meeting will focus on whether violent video games contribute to real-world violence in our country.

Gun laws across the country are under the microscope at state capitols. And Michigan is no exception. But the reality is, we’re not seeing a re-thinking of gun policy. Instead, everyone’s just returned to their corners.

There’s increasing pressure for Lansing to do something following the school shootings in Parkland, Florida.

State lawmakers might soon consider bills that would let courts temporarily take guns away from gun owners they considered to be dangerous to other people or themselves.

After 17 students were killed in a Florida school last week, some high school students in Kalamazoo decided they needed to do something.

Under the banner of “Students Fighting Guns Since Adults Won’t,” eight students drafted a petition and put it up on Change.org, a popular petition website.

It’s been five days since the Valentine’s Day school shooting in Florida; the 17 dead are being buried, and the story is easing out of the headlines.

This weekend, writing a newspaper column, I started to refer to this as “our nation’s latest school shooting,” and caught myself. Better not say that, I realized.

Someday, a shooter will walk into a school, probably a suburban school, somewhere in Michigan, and blow teachers and students away, most likely with a weapon no civilian should be allowed to own. When that happens, don’t give me any credit for prophecy.