Commission moving forward with plan to install gun detectors at Michigan State Capitol
A plan to install new security systems at the Michigan Capitol is moving forward after the body tasked with overseeing the Capitol grounds voted unanimously Friday to accept proposals to outfit the Capitol complex with five security detectors.
Calling the sought-security devices "metal detectors" would be a bit of a misnomer, however — Capitol Commission Chair Bill Kandler said the commission plans to install pass-through devices that could detect weapons whether they are metal or not, noting the devices can also detect firearms produced with a 3D printer.
Kandler said the new security devices will likely coincide with a new policy banning all firearms from entering the Capitol, with exceptions for law enforcement officers.
"It makes no sense to have the policy if you can't enforce it. Until we have the equipment, we can't really enforce it," he said. "We're working on language for the policy, and we're going forward with the purchase of equipment."
The plan is to install detectors at entrances on the east, north and south sides of the Capitol, with the current west entrance being turned into an exit. One security device would be installed at the Heritage Hall entrance, and another at the north service entrance, where service contractors and caterers enter the Capitol, Kandler said.
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Once the new security devices are ordered, Kandler said, he's not sure of a timeline for them to arrive and be installed at the Capitol, citing potential logistical issues. But the intent is to institute a new firearm policy once the devices are in place.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer included $5 million in her 2023-24 budget recommendation for security and other infrastructure upgrades at the Capitol. Kandler and John Truscott, the former vice chair of the commission, estimated in 2021 that initial costs for installing metal detectors and hiring staff to monitor them would be $1.5 million.
"That's probably about correct," Kandler said, adding the figure factors in installation costs, and annual maintenance and personnel rates would be lower in following years.
In 2020, Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation to ban guns at the state Capitol, but the bills languished under the Republican majority. Earlier this year, House Democrats introduced a bill to prohibit firearms from being carried in state-owned or state-leased buildings, which would include the Capitol.
Currently, openly carrying firearms in the Capitol is prohibited, with a few exceptions for law enforcement officers, House and Senate Sergeants of Arms and concealed pistol license (CPL) holders. The ban was instituted in the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the building and attempted to prevent the certification of electoral votes.
In May 2020, Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an opinion stating the commission had the authority to ban firearms from the Capitol, days after protestors, some of which carrying long guns, entered the building and the Senate gallery to decry state-issued COVID-19 health orders.
The Michigan State Capitol Commission is a six-member body tasked with overseeing the management and maintenance of the Capitol grounds in Lansing.
Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Commission seeks proposals for gun detectors at Michigan Capitol
