People gather for Second Amendment march

LANSING Mich. (WLNS) – People gathered on the lawn of the state Capitol Thursday to celebrate the Second Amendment.

Many were carrying guns and exercising their right to bear arms. It was all part of the “Second Amendment March” put on by Michigan Open Carry. People at the event, like State Representative Angela Rigas, said they want the government to stay away from their gun rights.

They say over the past couple of years that hasn’t been happening.

“We always will defend our Second Amendment, without it we have no country,” Rigas said.

People at the march feel recent laws have weakened their gun rights and they’re worried about future proposed legislation.

“They keep going after law-abiding gun owners over and over again as if that is going to curb crime or lessen crime,” Rigas said.

Sheila Manning, an attendee of the rally, agreed, and she spoke about the current laws that she feels encroach on her right to bear arms.

“The red flag laws, they are taking away guns without due process and people are not even committing crimes before they’re being taken away,” Manning said.

Red flag laws allow courts to temporarily remove guns from people who may hurt themselves or others. Manning also feels it is those illegally obtaining guns that give responsible gun owners a bad rap.

“I put my guns in a safe and I keep my firearms away from my kids,” Manning said.

State Rep. Rigas said that lawmakers should be focused on the people using the guns, not the object.

“We need to increase sentencing for gun crimes, we need to get some of these guns off the streets that are not registered. That’s what we need to do, we need to go after the criminals instead of the law-abiding citizens,” Rigas said.

People at the march want to expand gun rights. They’re hoping for constitutional carry in Michigan which would mean legal gun owners could open carry and conceal carry.

Kazia Kelly is with Moms Demand Action, a group working to end gun violence. She said gun safety laws are very much compatible with the Constitution. She feels that lives and the Second Amendment can be protected if basic gun violence prevention measures are passed.

People at today’s march say that gun laws won’t change gun violence because the people creating the violence wouldn’t follow the laws anyway.

“It’s real easy probably to get an illegal gun. It’s not that easy to get a legal gun,” Manning said.

The event wrapped up Thursday around 1 P.M. Usually the group speaks with lawmakers as well, but the State Legislature was not in session.

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