Guns turned in at Michigan buyback programs must be fully destroyed due to new law
(FOX 2) - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed several pieces of legislation dealing with firearm safety and gun buyback programs into law this week.
It's the latest slate of Democratic-backed bills that made their way through the Michigan House before Republicans took back control, ending a two-year period of lawmaking that started with promises to pass gun reform.
Big picture view:
The governor signed 19 bills and created an executive order that bolsters the School Safety and Mental Health Commission on Wednesday.
Two bills require the health department to develop information about Michigan's safe storage law. Another two bills standardize the terminology that schools use when dealing with an emergency situation like a mass casualty event.
HB 6144, 6145, and 6146 deals with any gun buyback programs, ordering the Michigan State Police to destroy all firearms that was purchased during one of those sessions.
The Associated Press reports that MSP acknowledged its previous disposal method only destroyed parts of the firearm.
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The New York Times reported in 2023 that buyback programs often don't lead to the complete firearm being destroyed.
Instead, a single piece that includes the gun's serial number is disposed of before the company that takes them in sells the rest of the firearm.
The new legislation is meant to close a loophole that some believe has fed the proliferation of firearms in the U.S.
"This legislation ensures when we destroy a firearm, our current practice of destroying all parts of the firearm will remain the standard now and for the future," said MSP Director Col. James F. Grady II, in a news release.