Gun Banners Rush to Exploit MI School Shooting; Watch for New Demands

Screen snip shows law enforcement response to shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. (YouTube, ABC News)

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Gun prohibitionists are moving swiftly to capitalize on the fatal school shooting in Oxford Township, Mich., that has now taken four students’ lives and left at least six other students and one adult, wounded, and the media now appears focused on how the 15-year-old suspect was armed with a pistol his father purchased with a background check just days before.

The suspect, identified as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, has been charged as an adult with 1 count of terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to commit murder, and 12 counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen C. McDonald. During her remarks to the press, she called for additional gun control.

“If the incident yesterday of four children being murdered is not enough to revisit our gun laws, I don’t know what is,” she said.

Anti-gun U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted, “Driving home tonight, I thought about Republicans’ floor speeches today on the “sanctity of life”. And how this concern for ‘life’ apparently doesn’t extend to the kids who were shot today in a school in Michigan. So I turned the car around, and went to the Senate floor.”

There, he delivered remarks excoriating Senate Republicans for opposing gun bans, apparently without doing any research on the shooting.

https://twitter.com/ChrisMurphyCT/status/1465853033523425280?s=20

“You care about life,” Murphy declared. “Then get these military-style weapons off the streets, out of our schools.”

But Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard had reportedly already identified the gun recovered by his deputies as a 9mm Sig Sauer SP2022 semi-auto, which carries a 15-round magazine. It is an exposed-hammer double-action/single-action pistol with a polymer frame, Nitron-finished stainless steel slide, night sights, not a “military-style weapon,”—whatever that might be—that Murphy and others want to ban.

Shannon Watts, founder and head of Moms Demand Action, the subsidiary of anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, released an email blast, stating in part, “our volunteers are demanding urgent action from our elected leaders, engaging with voters to support gun safety at the ballot box, and organizing their own communities every single day to prevent more gun tragedies.”

Virtually every news agency is noting in their reports the pistol was purchased on “Black Friday”—the day after Thanksgiving—by the suspect’s father. Neither the teen suspect nor his parents are speaking to investigators and the parents have reportedly hired an attorney. Investigators were still trying to establish a motive.

When the suspect surrendered to responding lawmen, the pistol still carried seven rounds in the magazine. At least one other magazine has been recovered.

One possible demand to watch for: A push for a federal waiting period on the delivery of any handgun, and a “safe storage” requirement.

A second effort might be a renewed push to limit magazine capacity on the heels of a federal appeals court ruling Tuesday upholding California’s ban on so-called “large-scale ammunition magazines,” as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Responding officers reportedly recovered two 15-round pistol magazines at the Michigan high school.

Another possibility would be quick action by Michigan lawmakers on Senate Bills 550-553 and House Bills 5066-5069. According to Bridge Michigan, they’re among dozens of measures stuck in legislative gridlock at the capitol in Lansing. The report says these measures “would require anyone who stores a firearm in an area accessible by a minor to either secure the gun with a locking device, store it in a lockbox or keep it ‘in a location that a reasonable person would believe is secure.’ Failure to do so would be a felony punishable by up to five years in prison if a minor used the gun to injure or kill anyone, including themselves. The legislation would also exempt ‘firearm safety devices’ from the state’s 6 percent sales and use tax, reducing the total cost.”

Sponsors of the bills were identified as Senators Rosemary Bayer of Beverly Hills, Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor, Stephanie Chang of Detroit and Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, and Reps. Felica Brabec of Pittsfield and Mari Manoogian of Birmingham.

It is already illegal for a minor to carry a concealed handgun in the state, and it is likewise illegal to carry a concealed pistol into a school.

Killed in the shooting were 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin. Reports say Myre heroically tried to disarm the suspect, only to be fatally wounded. He died in a police car while an officer was rushing to reach a hospital. There is already a movement to name the high school’s football field in Myre’s honor, with a petition supporting the suggestion already carrying nearly 50,000 signatures.

On Wednesday, a fourth student identified as 15-year-old Justin Shilling, died at a hospital in Pontiac, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Related News: Senate Democrats Try to Force Universal Background Check Bill, will GOP Fold?


About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Dave Workman

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Vince

 The passage of the No Gun Zone law in 1990, which banned guns in certain public places notably public schools facilitated these shootings. This law “enables and guarantees a successful mass shooting every time” by making everyone in the public school system or venue defenseless and easy targets. This law also guaranteed the shooters’ safety by making sure they alone had weapons during the carnage. Please notice that all these shooting occur at public schools, this law does not cover private schools or events which have their own armed security. There have been no mass shootings at private schools in… Read more »

Montana454Casull

Democrats never let a tragedy go to waiste , they use them on every occasion to push thier false narratives and try to strip law biding citizens of their rights . This is the Democrat way and a play they adopted from Hitler . They are closely patterning themselves after the brown shirts and using the same tactics !

TheFoe

Disgusting. The democrat opportunists, the poor parenting, all of it. Where’s the 24 hour coverage of the Waukesha massacre? Where’s the coverage of the Maxwell trial? No, you can’t have my guns.

Arizona

Every firearm is suitable for military use. And per SCOTUS case US v Miller, arms suitable to the military are protected by the 2nd amendment. Every horrible implement of war is an American citizens’ birthright, and ALL BEARABLE ARMS are protected. Whatever the infantry soldier has the citizen has a right to own, carry and use. Police do not get special carve outs Nor do federal agents.

Finnky

Seems to me this shooting should be used to support calls to arm teachers. Sure the events happened fast, but likely took long enough that an alert teacher could have intervened. Possibly could have deterred killer had he known school was an “armed guards zone” instead of a “no gun zone”. He probably expected to walk away unharmed, and it sounds as though he did. Yes he’ll be in court and they are charging him as an adult, but he’ll get off lighter than majority on this board would like to see. I doubt DA will plead down much due… Read more »

Darkman

Comments by the Oakland County Michigan sheriff on Renewed calls for more Firearm Legislation. he seem to have Hit the Bulls eye with His Remarks.
https://youtu.be/2DzCxxOiei8