LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — Amendments were made to a State Senate bill that will allow adults with the proper concealed carry permit to carry a gun through almost all gun free zones, including churches, schools and bars.
The changes will allow schools to ban students from carrying guns, and staff through collective bargaining. Universities and colleges could also call their own shots on gun bans.
But the bills do not allow local governments to opt out of the law, which is what prompted Governor Snyder to veto similar legislation in 2012.
Sponsor Arlen Meekhof says it will require four hours of extra classroom training and four hours of range time, or 96 bullets, in addition to the 8-hours of training for the current CPL.
Gun instructor John Gold testified at the committee hearing that the extra training required by the legislation falls short. He says 16-hours of training is not enough to be proficient, especially in a chaotic situation.
Kalamazoo House Democrat Jon Hoadley says they need to be putting guns in fewer hands, not more hands and being more selective about who gets them.
He says the only people who are qualified to be handling fire-arms in that sort of situation are police officers, who train constantly to be prepared for such occasions.
A series of amendments sponsored by democrats all failed, including bills that would have banned convicted domestic abusers, sex offenders and people on the government’s “no-fly” list from getting CPL’s.
The Senate bills now head to the State House for their consideration.
