LANSING, MI-- For the second time this month, Michigan's Republican-led Senate has blocked one of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's appointments to the state commission that regulates hunting and fishing.
The Senate on Thursday rejected George Heartwell, a former mayor of Grand Rapids. Gun-rights groups opposed his nomination in part because, as mayor, he backed an ordinance banning guns in public buildings and was a member of a gun-control group co-founded by former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Senator Ed McBroom was one of those who voted against Heartwell’s nomination. He says, “I have received hundreds of calls, emails, visits and letters from my constituents, expressing their anger and frustration over Mr. Heartwell’s appointment, especially given his stance and actions on guns and his association with anti-hunting groups. His appointment was seen by many Second Amendment advocates, hunters, anglers and outdoorsmen and women as a threat to their rights and unfit to represent their positions.”
Heartwell, who no longer hunts but fishes, has said he supports the Second Amendment and hunting.
