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Coinciding with President Trumps recent visit to Warren, Second Amendment advocates held a Jan. 30 rally in Taylor to stand for gun rights.

Firearm owners gathered at Big Rock Archery across from Top Gun Shooting Sports to hear speeches on how state legislation could help or harm their cause.

Inside the lobby, information booths and merchandise tables were set up by various organizations, including the National Rifle Association, The Well Armed Woman and Gun Owners of America. While the event was not billed as a political rally, booths sold Trump gear and representatives from the Wayne County 12th District Republican Committee attended.

If we lose our Second Amendment, our First Amendment is next, NRA volunteer Lori Card said. Gun rights are under threat. Its happening in Virginia. There are different counties putting bans in place. Its definitely something we need to protect. Its a personal right to decide if you want to have a gun or not.

The Taylor rally came following tensions in Virginia, where a Democratic Legislature is moving forward on several pieces of gun control legislation, including universal background checks and red flag laws. On Jan. 20, roughly 16,000 Second Amendment supporters gathered at Virginias State Capitol while carrying their weapons. The protest stirred nationwide controversy, but the rally was largely peaceful, with no reported violence.

As members of Wayne 12th (Republican Committee), we are big Second Amendment supporters, group member Joseph Lenard said. With all the gun-grabbing going on, especially in Virginia, this event is of the utmost importance now.

Lenard said Michigans state elected officials pose a threat to gun rights.

Having Dana Nessel as the attorney general, she is not a Second Amendment-friendly person, neither is Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer, he said. We have to be a little more on guard. Without the Second Amendment, all our other rights are unprotected. If you disarm your citizens, you can control your citizens.

Top Gun owner Mike Barbour began the event with some introductions and opening remarks.

Were all here for one reason, and thats to protect the Second Amendment, he said to applause. In Virginia, their gun rights are under attack like weve never seen before. This proves that we cant sit back and not go vote. Youve got to vote in every election.

In the 2018 midterm elections, Michigan Democrats took back the governorship, while Republicans maintained the state House and Senate.

I know some of you may be Democrats, but we want to work together and unite to protect our gun rights, Barbour said. With this event, we wanted to put on a united front for the Second Amendment.

Top Gun owner Mike Barbour talked about Michigan's laws and how they affect gun ownership.

Terry Johnson, an attorney specializing in firearm law, kicked off the nights presentations. He spoke at length about Michigan Senate Bill No. 156, or the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, a red flag bill similar to what Virginia is moving forward with.

ERPO laws are designed to get guns out of the hands of individuals who are threats to themselves or others. Direct family members and law enforcement agents can file an ERPO, but more controversially, so can ex-spouses, people who have lived together in the past, and those in a dating relationship.

Johnson argued the action goes too far in allowing who can file under the red flag law, and that the action can be used by those who disagree with gun owners.

How many of you have had a roommate, and how many of you have left on bad terms with that roommate, Johnson asked. What do you think this opens up? This means someone who lived with you in college can file an action against you.

Johnson said another flaw with the Senate bill is the aspect of defendants rights. Once an ERPO has been filed, the firearm owner has 14 days to have a hearing, one attempt to modify or rescind the order, and 24 hours to surrender the firearm once approved by a judge.

Your ex-wife or first cousin can go down to the court, check a few boxes on a form, tell them you have a CPL, and they need to convince a judge that if they dont do something right now, youre going to do harm to yourself or others, Johnson said. You have to prove a negative. In most courtrooms, its on the plaintiff to prove the case; not with red flag.

Johnson said better alternatives to the ERPO bill are voluntary and involuntary commitment. He added that the bill takes the gun away from the person, not the person from the gun, and that someone could also do harm with a knife or another object.

This is a gun-grab bill thats disguised, he said. If it was a legitimate bill, it would not just be about firearms.

Firearm instructor Rick Ector, creator of Legally Armed in Detroit, specializes in training citizens, especially women, how to operate a gun and use it if need be. One of Ectors motivations for starting the group, he said, was the drastic rate of sexual assault in Detroit.

Its an epidemic, he said. Its an absolute shame that our women cant live out their day-to-day lives and functions and not be concerned about being rape victims. We need to train women to protect themselves with firearms. Im not talking about pepper spray, and Im definitely not talking about a whistle.

The Legally Armed in Detroit program started about 10 years ago and has grown drastically over the years. In 2019, the group trained 814 women how to use a firearm, Ector said. His next goal is to train 1,000 women in a single day at an event set for May 17 at Top Gun.

Registration will open at noon on May 10, he said. This event is too important for the safeguarding of our women.

Attorney Dean Greenblatt wrapped up the nights presentations with an overview of bills introduced in the Michigan House and Senate, and which would help or hurt gun rights.

Outside of the ERPO bill Johnson discussed, Greenblatt said Second Amendment lawmakers also are opposing House Bill No. 5094, which would impose a 10 percent tax on firearms and ammunition. Republicans have similar legislation, House Bill No. 4863, which exempts firearms and ammunition from the state sales tax.

One pro-gun bill that gun advocates expect Whitmer to sign is House Bill No. 4434, which provides a one-year window for someone to renew an expired CPL without criminal punishment. Currently, someone with a CPL that is expired by even a day is treated as if he or she never owned the gun legally, facing up to a five-year sentence if charged with possessing the pistol without a permit.

We currently have Republican control, but its getting to be razor thin, Greenblatt said. With the upcoming elections, if youre not supporting people that are paying attention to your rights, they could very easily slip away.

Greenblatt said the ERPO bills have the biggest chance of passing and are the biggest threat to firearm ownership. He stressed that taking political action is key to protecting gun rights in Michigan.

You need to vote, Greenblatt said. Call your representative and tell them how you feel about these bills. At the state level, we need to support these organizations. These people that are at the tip of the spear trying to get things done.

This pro-Trump float was outside the event and was an attraction many attendees enjoyed seeing and taking photos of.

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Gun rights advocates rally around the Second Amendment in Taylor - Southgate News Herald