By Douglas Smith 10/11/13
The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners wants to join the Ann Arbor City Council and others to pass a resolution to tell the legislature to repeal Michigan’s Stand Your Ground law and Act 319 of 1990, which prohibits local governments from passing restrictive gun laws. The resolution reads in part[1];
WHEREAS, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners believes that Public Act 309 of 2006 can place an unreasonable burden on prosecutors to overcome the presumption that a defendant claiming self-defense acted upon a reasonable and honest belief of imminent death, great bodily harm, or sexual assault, especially in cases in which the only witness who could rebut the presumption is dead; and
WHEREAS, Public Act 319 of 1990, the Firearms and Ammunition Act, impedes local units of government from protecting the public health, safety and welfare by preventing the establishment of reasonable local regulations concerning the sale, transfer, transportation or possession of firearms and ammunition;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners calls upon the Michigan State Legislature and Governor Snyder to repeal Public Act 309 of 2006 and Public Act 319 of 1990
This means that an individual who is threatened with death or great bodily harm must be able to prove not only that the threat is reasonable but that they had no alternative to the use of deadly force. The prosecutor has the entire power and resources of the state to prove their case but the County Commissioners want to shift the burden of proof to the individual citizen.
In addition, they want each gun owner to know and follow the gun laws in every jurisdiction to which they travel. They want the State to become a hodgepodge of differing and conflicting gun laws.
Although the resolution was not on the agenda for the October 2, 2013 meeting of the Board, twelve people showed up to make public comments opposing the resolution and one spoke in favor of the resolution.
[1] Proposed repeal of SYG law
The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners wants to join the Ann Arbor City Council and others to pass a resolution to tell the legislature to repeal Michigan’s Stand Your Ground law and Act 319 of 1990, which prohibits local governments from passing restrictive gun laws. The resolution reads in part[1];
WHEREAS, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners believes that Public Act 309 of 2006 can place an unreasonable burden on prosecutors to overcome the presumption that a defendant claiming self-defense acted upon a reasonable and honest belief of imminent death, great bodily harm, or sexual assault, especially in cases in which the only witness who could rebut the presumption is dead; and
WHEREAS, Public Act 319 of 1990, the Firearms and Ammunition Act, impedes local units of government from protecting the public health, safety and welfare by preventing the establishment of reasonable local regulations concerning the sale, transfer, transportation or possession of firearms and ammunition;
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners calls upon the Michigan State Legislature and Governor Snyder to repeal Public Act 309 of 2006 and Public Act 319 of 1990
This means that an individual who is threatened with death or great bodily harm must be able to prove not only that the threat is reasonable but that they had no alternative to the use of deadly force. The prosecutor has the entire power and resources of the state to prove their case but the County Commissioners want to shift the burden of proof to the individual citizen.
In addition, they want each gun owner to know and follow the gun laws in every jurisdiction to which they travel. They want the State to become a hodgepodge of differing and conflicting gun laws.
Although the resolution was not on the agenda for the October 2, 2013 meeting of the Board, twelve people showed up to make public comments opposing the resolution and one spoke in favor of the resolution.
[1] Proposed repeal of SYG law
| 9-18-13-stand-your-ground-resolution.pdf |
Three commissioners spoke, indicating that they favored the resolution, Andy LaBarre, Conan Smith and Yousef Rabhi.
One commissioner spoke, indicating that she was opposed to the resolution, Alicia Ping.
MLive reporters did an extensive study on justifiable homicide cases in Michigan. They found no significant rise in the incidence of justifiable homicides in Michigan from the early 2000’s until 2010 despite the enactment of the Stand Your Ground law in 2006.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/justified_to_kill_an_mlive_spe.html
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