These days it seems the state of Michigan is full of people who think they can make up their own rules and enforce them on others. As I am sure you have heard, Governor Gretchen Whitmer is just such a person, as she has made up law after law to suit her needs during this unprecedented pandemic. Thankfully, the courts have taken the peoples’ side in more recent days and decided to call out Whitmer for her overreach.
But it seems she isn’t the only female with a state-level government title who thinks she is the queen.
Enter Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Apparently, the two, like most Democrats, have a problem with guns. Together, the two have come up with a way to silence the Second Amendment in the state, if only for a short a time.
Last week, Benson announced a ban on open carry guns in and around all polling locations in the state. According to Benson, openly carrying a firearm into a polling station is a form of voter intimidation, and therefore, it shouldn’t be allowed.
She cited that people in the state were unusually fearful at this time, thanks in part to the recent kidnapping attempt of the state’s governor. And openly displaying firearms in public and at a place so closely related to government business would only intensify this fear.
However, as I am sure you can guess, there are a few problems with this logic.
First is the idea that anyone would be all that upset if someone made their tyrannical and oppressive governor actually pay for her crimes on the people.
Second is that neither Benson nor Nessel, on their own or combined, has the power to make, let alone put any such law into effect.
Naturally, given the blatant disrespect for the law and Benson’s audacity, the matter was taken to court, where the judge ruled against Benson’s ban. Of course, just like Whitmer has, as well as most other idiotic Democrat leaders, they just can’t tell when enough is enough or see the facts. And so Benson took the case to the Michigan appeals court.
According to the Washington Post, “The Michigan appeals court on Thursday rejected an appeal from a Democratic state official who wants to ban the open carry of guns outside polling places. The court, in a 3-0 order, declined to hear the case but noted that it’s already illegal to intimidate voters or aggressively wave a gun in public.”
And the court does have a point. Voter intimidation is a federal offense in just about any state. According to the court, this consists of “brandishing a firearm or, for that matter, by threatening with a knife, baseball bat, fist, or otherwise menacing behavior.”
But merely carrying one, open or concealed, is not considered “menacing.”
Of course, there was also Benson’s matter not having any authority to make such a ban.
Laws involving guns, including where, where not, or when they can be carried, are matters for the Michigan Legislature alone. And even then, they are not fully enforceable until they are signed off on by the governor.
Benson, even as Secretary of State, simply doesn’t have the authority to make up laws, announce, or enforce them just because she feels they need to be implemented. You’d think someone of her stature or title would understand that. You’d also think that, if anything, similar cases involving Governor Whitmer would have taught her that.
I mean, if Whitmer can’t make up and enforce whatever she wants, what on Earth made Benson think she could?
Naturally, the appeals court decision isn’t very satisfying to Benson, so she has resolved to take it before the state’s Supreme Court. However, it’s unlikely that she will get the result she’s looking for. As the Post noted, the appeals court wouldn’t even hear the case, let alone agree with Benson. I can’t imagine the Supreme Court wouldn’t vary much in that regard, especially with mere hours before the election at this point.
In fact, it’s highly possible that by the time the higher court hears the case, it will be too late to matter. Wouldn’t that be a shame…
