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Whitmer will call for red flag, background check gun laws at State of the State

Michigan Executive Office of the Governor
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers the 2022 State of the State speech remotely on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer will call for new gun control laws when she delivers her State of the State address this week.

The governor told MLive she will call for storage requirements, universal background checks and a red flag law in her annual address. The administration confirmed the details to Michigan Public Radio after they were first reported by MLive.

“The time for thoughts and prayers is over,” she told MLive in a statement.

Calls for new gun laws ramped up following the Oxford school shooting in 2021. Democrats, who are now in control of the Legislature and the governor’s office, have also put new gun restrictions on their agenda. Republicans have blocked these types of restrictions in the past.

Bridge Michigan reports the governor will also call for funding to pay for more one-on-one tutoring for students struggling with reading. The governor’s also expected to call for boosting the state’s earned income tax credit and repealing the state’s dormant abortion ban.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.
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