Michigan Democrats are rallying behind state attorney general candidate Eli Savit over his support of “Red Flag” and Extreme Risk Protection Order laws.
The regulations allow civil courts to temporarily prevent people found to be at risk of harming themselves or others from possessing or buying guns.
Speaking on a Zoom call with other gun regulation advocates, Savit said he is in favor of the laws.
“I support these laws that prevent tragedies that prevent death in the first place,” Savit said.
His Republican opponent, Doug Lloyd, says on the Michigan GOP website the laws should be repealed, citing due process concerns.
Red flag laws "can strip individuals of a fundamental constitutional right without adequate notice, meaningful opportunity to be heard, or proper safeguards,” Lloyd wrote. “Public safety and constitutional rights are not mutually exclusive, but any law that restricts a core liberty must meet the highest legal standards.”
Michigan State Senator Stephanie Chang, speaking in support of Savit, said the laws are needed to curb domestic violence.
“ERPOs are specifically focused on removing the firearm from the situation, but we also know that having a firearm in a domestic violence situation makes it five times more likely that the victim will die,” Chang said.
Ronan McDonough is a University of Michigan student and a survivor of the 2021 Oxford High School shooting that killed four students and injured seven others. He said he still has trouble being around fireworks – especially on the Fourth of July. He said repealing extreme risk protection orders would be a mistake.
“Restricting someone's ability to issue an ERPO is dangerous,” McDonough said. “When we talk about repealing ERPOs, we are placing the removal of these safeguards ahead of survivors like me and communities like mine.”
Lloyd, the current Eaton County prosecutor, is also in favor of “constitutional carry.” That term is favored by gun-rights advocates who want to eliminate concealed carry permitting and other regulations surrounding the use and handling of firearms.
“Responsible citizens should not be forced to navigate confusing and inconsistent permitting schemes simply to exercise a right that is already guaranteed by the Constitution,” Lloyd wrote.
