(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/27/23) The Michigan State Capitol Commission is poised to soon begin a new era of protecting lawmakers, staff, lobbyists, reporters, and thousands of visitors to the state Capitol when technology designed to detect guns is installed.
Commission Chair and former Secretary of the State Senate Bill Kandler confirmed for MIRS that the firearm detection devices and the qualified personnel to monitor them are expected to be operative after Labor Day.
At that point, the Capitol's new firearm ban will be implemented. That new policy document is 90% completed and could be adopted at the commission's next meeting Monday. If it's not adopted then, look for it at the late August meeting.
Note that these are not metal detectors, which take longer to uncover firearms and could have produced foot traffic jams in the building.
Rather, this equipment is much like you see at your local store. With this method, the movement of persons into the building will not create long lines and the only stopping will be to take persons out of the line if the monitors go off. State police officers will do the searches offline. It is unclear how many of those officers will be needed.
The House and Senate Sergeants at Arms will monitor the machines on the north and south entrances to the building.
When discussions began on this new equipment, the cost was pegged at about $5 million but the commission discovered that, with a lease, the annual cost would be around $170,000 a year.
