Lansing ? Fifty southern Michigan church leaders marched, sang and prayed at the Capitol on Tuesday morning in support of action from Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers to quell gun violence in Detroit, Flint and other cities plagued by rising murder rates.
"Thirty thousand people died last year in gun violence and we lost four people in Benghazi, but what gets talked about?" said the Rev. Ira Edwards of Flint, who's among clergy pressing for more attention to murder in Michigan's biggest cities.
The ministers said they favor reforms such as universal background checks for firearms purchases, improved mental health care and a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
The clergy, part of a movement called Michigan Prophetic Voices, oppose any further slackening of state gun restrictions and dispute National Rifle Association claims that arming citizens and stationing armed guards at schools are the best ways to discourage shootings.
"You do not stop a flood by putting more water out there," said Bishop James Williams of Spirit and Christian Truth Ministries in Detroit. "You do not stop gun violence by putting more guns out there."
Edwards and Williams said they also hope Snyder will provide state backing for an intervention program they say reduced gun violence by 30 percent in Boston. It uses people who've been involved in the problem, especially past offenders, as paid interveners who seek to prevent individual incidents of violence from spiraling into revenge and additional shootings.
Detroit had 386 killings last year, up by 42 from 2011. Flint has had more than 50 killings each of the past three years.
Firearms are on the minds of state lawmakers, too, as President Barack Obama presses for national gun measures in the wake of the killing of 20 children and six adults at a Newtown, Conn., school.
The federal proposals include an assault weapons ban, universal background checks for gun buyers, improved mental health services and help for schools wanting better security.
State Rep. Andy Schor, D-Lansing, has introduced two bills restricting handguns. One bans open carrying of weapons at schools, churches, day care centers, sports venues, bars and taverns, hospitals and state universities. Concealed weapons already are prohibited in gun-free zones. The second adds libraries to the list of gun-free areas.
"I support all of our citizens' right to keep and bear arms, but I also ... feel strongly about ensuring that concealed and open-carry guns are not allowed in very sensitive areas," Schor said.
In December, Snyder vetoed a bill that would have opened up schools, churches and libraries to concealed-carry handguns.
Last week, a Senate committee pushed forward a bill that would register formal opposition to Obama's efforts by declaring any firearm produced and sold exclusively in Michigan to be immune to federal gun rules. The bill is ready for a full Senate vote.
gheinlein@detroitnews.com
(517) 371-3660
Source: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130130/POLITICS02/301300348/1022/rss10
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