As Barack Obama once said, elections have consequences. Yet that's not the only thing that has them. A poor job of dealing with problems can have consequences, too. They can see your government trifecta evaporate.
No, this isn't about President-elect Trump or the upcoming GOP majorities in the House and Senate. This is about Michigan, where Democrats apparently want to punish the electorate.
While they didn't get curb-stomped like Democrats did on the federal level, they still experienced some setbacks. In response, they've decided to cram through some of the very legislation that likely sent them packing in the first place.
In particular, their anti-gun agenda:
Michigan Democrats are mounting a push for additional firearm reforms before they lose control of the state House at the end of the year, pursuing potential votes on proposals to ban "ghost guns," allow lawsuits against manufacturers and more.
“The priority wish list during lame-duck is long, and time is short,” said Jess Travers, a spokesperson for House Democrats, who will lose their two-seat advantage to Republicans in January.
But there is a “hopeful optimism — in fact, it is very likely that firearm violence prevention legislation will be part of the remaining weeks of this year," Travers added.
Many of the gun reform bills Democrats are eyeing in the final weeks of their majority have yet to receive public hearings. And in some instances — such as a plan to open up parts of the firearm industry to legal liability for gun-related deaths — legislation has not been publicly introduced.
But that doesn't mean Democrats are going to "shove anything haphazardly through" the legislative process, said state Rep. Kelly Breen, a Novi Democrat who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
Michigan Republicans are, understandably, less than pleased by this.
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Here's the thing. Any supposed threat posed by so-called "ghost guns" – especially if you use the narrow definition that equates to homemade firearms rather than anything that doesn't have a readable serial number, which many try to use without noting the difference – is grossly overstated. Media reports and law enforcement statements talk about a "growing" threat from these firearms, but in the rare occasions you get actual numbers, you find they make up a few percent of the total number of firearms recovered at crime scenes, which doesn't mean they were used in criminal actions, by the way, only that when someone was arrested, such a firearm was found. Someone arrested for tax evasion could build such weapons lawfully as a hobby, but it would still count.
And bump stocks, well, they're really not commonly used in crime, either. Yes, Las Vegas was a horrifying example to the contrary, but it's notable also because it is the exception. It's just not an issue in most cases.
The truth of the matter is that Michigan voters got sick of what the House had been cramming down their throats for the last two years and decided that a change was needed. So, in response, Democrats are going to try and push through an agenda they couldn't manage to get through over the last two years, all while some of their members are polishing up their résumés.
It's legitimately disgusting.
