Michigan Capitol Commission will delay vote on restricting firearms in state capitol building
LANSING, Mich. - After controversy sparked over the apparent access that armed citizens had in the Lansing state capitol, the Michigan Capitol Commission has decided to delay a vote on whether it will restrict allowing firearms inside legislative chambers.
During a zoom call Monday morning, members of the commission said they would need to spend more time on the subject and opted to make a judgment at a later date.
The decision comes following a formal opinion published by the Michigan Attorney General stating the commission had the authority to enforce restrictions on carrying firearms into the capitol building. Dana Nessel's letter came after a second organized protest in Lansing over Michigan's stay-home order boiled over into the capitol building, which featured protestors armed with assault rifles standing on the balcony which sits over where lawmakers sit.
"I firmly believe in the right to protest, the right to demonstrate, and the right to loudly and strongly object to those causes that move us,” Nessel said in her opinion. “These rights are so fundamental to our democracy that they are enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution. But it is also important to remember that the right to protest does not encompass the right to violence, or the right to harm those individuals with whom you disagree.”
RELATED: Capitol Commission has "moral imperative" to restrict guns, says Michigan Attorney General Nessel
You can watch the capitol commission's meeting here.
On Sunday, Nessel told FOX 2 that the First Amendment, the right to free speech, was already restricted with individuals enter the capitol building as visitors aren't allowed to bring in signs.
"...they decided because they didn't want to see paint chipped in the building or any other kind of property damage, that they would ban signs and therefore curtail people's first amendment rights. They have every opportunity to do that in regard to potentially to some extent, a minor restriction on a second amendment right."
Many public officials, from the governor to Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate to even Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey support limiting access of firearms in the building.