KALAMAZOO, MI — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive Tuesday afternoon that directs the coordination and investment of all available federal resources within state government departments and law enforcement agencies into crime and gun violence intervention and prevention.
Whitmer signed the directive Tuesday, July 26 in the Warner Building in Kalamazoo, after listening to a bipartisan group of parents, students, law enforcement officials, elected officials, community and faith leaders who have been directly impacted by gun violence throughout the region and state.
Among the group at the roundtable were parents of a child who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in a Kalamazoo College dorm in 1999, a veteran speaking about suicide, a counselor who spoke about the importance of red flag laws and a social worker and student who spoke about gun violence in schools.
Others included a retired law enforcement officer, a retired nurse, a hospital security guard, a pastor, and a mother and daughter who lost the daughter’s father to gun violence in Kalamazoo.
The directive comes less than a month from Whitmer signing a state budget that creates a record investment into law enforcement in Michigan for the fourth consecutive year.
Related: Whitmer signs record $76B state budget; tax relief talks ongoing
“This is not a group of people that are like minded. We don’t all have the same experience, we don’t all have the same politics. Every one of us recognizes that,” Whitmer said. “But everyone of us recognizes that we’ve got to do something, and that’s what this conversation is about. That’s what the budget I just signed reflects. That’s what this directive I just signed reflects.”
Under the directive, Whitmer directs that each department or agency that may qualify for funding under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 2 must identify, within 30 days, a designee from within the department or agency to oversee the department’s or agency’s efforts and to facilitate inter-departmental coordination.
The Michigan State Police must also evaluate opportunities to improve the state’s process for reporting relevant criminal, mental health and juvenile records. In addition working with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and State Court Administrative Office to apply for appropriate grants related to the above, MSP must create the Community Violence Intervention Office.
The aforementioned office will be responsible for coordinating state and federal grants related to community violence intervention programming and must coordinate regularly with MDHHS and all state departments and agencies that may qualify for funding under these grants.
Alan Marble, a former Northern Michigan law enforcement officer and former chief law enforcement officer with the DNR, said he has been a lifelong hunter and served in the law enforcement community for 29 years.
Marble, who was an NRA member for 30 years before leaving the organization three years ago, said he would like to see hunters make their voices louder when it pertains to gun legislation and that he hopes Michigan will expand its hunter safety program dramatically as well as background checks for all gun owners.
Daniel Bessie, a security guard at Sparrow Hospital, echoed Marble’s sentiments and added that he would like to see the “gun show loop hole” closed up. He also added that “all the money that was taken out of behavioral health years ago, needs to go back.”
Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffery Getting spoke of support for red flag laws in the State of Michigan that are supported by people from both sides of the aisle, but wind up not making through it legislature. He also spoke of safe storage laws, giving the example of a 9-year-old girl who was shot and killed in Kalamazoo by a younger sibling who had access to an unlocked gun.
“I have two sons at home, an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old,” Getting said. “That I can’t send them to the store to buy a six-pack of Bell’s beer to share with the governor when she visits but they can go to the local gun store, buy a semi-automatic rifle, multiple extended magazines, 500 rounds of ammunition without my knowledge, without my permission, without prior training, regardless of what their history is with regard to mental health, as long as they weren’t involuntarily committed at one time, well that’s crazy. It’s just crazy.
“We need to do more with regard to legislation.”
Whitmer called the gun violence problem one that is unique to America and that her reasoning for signing the directive is that there needs to be immediate steps taken to help address all of the different “puzzle pieces” that make up the problem.
“As a former prosecutor, public safety is a top priority for me,” she said. “But today, far too many families in Michigan do not feel safe in their neighborhoods because of crime and gun violence. That is unacceptable.
“We must stop the violence and hold people accountable. We need to tackle both crime and gun violence simultaneously because they are inextricably linked; nearly 1 in 3 reported violent crimes involve a firearm and in the first six months of this year alone, over 450 Michiganders have died because of gun violence.”
Similar to an executive order, an executive directive is issued by the governor to establish basic internal policy or procedure for the executive branch of state government, assure the faithful execution of law, and to supervise state departments. The executive directive can be viewed here.
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