A group of Michigan House Republicans has introduced legislation to declare the AR-15 the official state firearm. However, the plan is not likely to go far.
State Representative Joey Andrews tells us the bill was introduced earlier this month, just a few weeks before a mass shooting in Rochester Hills. He doesn’t think spending time on a bill to declare an official state firearm would be a good use of the Legislature’s time.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Andrews said. “There are, I think, probably about 150 things that we should be addressing before we start contemplating whether or not the state needs to have a state firearm. I’m thankful that the local folks here understand that there’s more pressing issues in front of us, but I just think it’s politics.”
Andrews says the 12 Republicans who introduced the bill are just trying to score political points. Will the legislation be taken seriously in the House?
“I don’t think so. I didn’t check, but I would not be surprised if it’s just sitting in Government Ops at this point. I don’t expect anything to happen with that legislation. I don’t know that anybody on our end is taking it seriously, and I’d be willing to bet that a fair number of Republicans also see that this is just theater.”
None of the bill’s sponsors are from Southwest Michigan. The group says it wants to dispel misconceptions about the AR-15, a gun owned by millions of people. They hope the plan will change the negative reputation the firearm has among many.
