Directly above me, men with rifles yelling at us. Some of my colleagues who own bullet proof vests are wearing them. I have never appreciated our Sergeants-at-Arms more than today. #mileg pic.twitter.com/voOZpPYWOs— Senator Dayna Polehanki (@SenPolehanki) April 30, 2020
Tweet from State Senator Dayna Polehanki
| 2 min | by Doug Marrin |
Michigan State Senator Lana Theis and Michigan State Representative Donna Lasinski attended the May 2, 2020, Dexter Forum and gave an insider’s view on the recent armed protest that took place at the state capital last Thursday, April 30.
Senator Theis represents Michigan’s 22nd Senate District which includes western Washtenaw County and part of Ann Arbor. Representative Lasinski serves in Michigan’s 52nd House District, which encompasses northern and western Washtenaw County.
Sen. Theis began by commenting on the stress of understanding and reacting to the coronavirus and subsequent mitigation efforts.
“Lansing has been kind of crazy lately, you might have noticed,” she said. “There’s a struggle right now in all of the country, probably in all of the world frankly, trying to figure out how to address this very real issue. Nobody’s denying that. This virus is terrible, dangerous, and horrible. And what the solution is, is where we’re having difficulties.”
The Senator’s office has received emails from people who are struggling. She told of how a family close to her had a member commit suicide from depression exacerbated by the coronavirus stress. Emergency response calls to homes have increased and the Senator emphasized the danger lies not just directly with the virus, but in helping citizens to understand the danger of the disease and how to function within its outbreak.
“I understand people’s frustration,” Sen. Theis told the Forum. “The legislators that were in there during the displays of protest were scared. I was talking to one of the senators, the one that was wearing the bulletproof vest, and she was truly petrified … and that should never happen.”
The Senator noted that the capital building in Lansing is not a gun-free zone. Currently, people are legally allowed to open carry there.
Sen. Theis provided some context to the confrontation. In the House of Representatives, the 110 members have spread out to maintain distance which has resulted in the use of the gallery. The gallery is thus closed to the public. The State Senate has the same size space for 38 senators who could spread out on the floor and leave the gallery open. Senator Theis explained that prohibiting public access to the House gallery is what angered the armed protestors who wanted to view the proceedings.
One Forum attendee noted the global attention the incident has received. Her relatives who live in Australia phoned her to say the protests were reported on their local news channel.
Rep. Lasinski told the Forum, “We have to remember that one we are an open carry state, but also, that as legislators it’s within our power to not allow guns in the Capitol.
She added, “When you are looking at groups of five to seven men wearing AR-15s coming in with the sole intent to intimidate the legislative process, and you find our capital officers who are who are outgunned at that moment, having to make decisions based on weaponry, not based on what the law is, it’s extremely distressing, and it was unsafe.”
“The crowd had gotten to a point that was literally a hair-trigger moment,” she recounted. “I think that’s a discussion we need to take up as we continue to see the decline in the civility of political discourse, as we continue to see the protests escalate, not only with guns but with the return again of Confederate flags and Nazi symbols. This time nooses were brought to the Capitol.”
One Forum member commented that the people with weapons were not differentiating between Republicans and Democrats, to which Rep. Lansinski replied, “I wouldn’t necessarily say that because there was a Republican member who was leading that group into the Capitol and up to the doors of the House floor.”
“So, it’s extremely distressing, and we’re going to have to find the path forward through this,” concluded Rep. Lasinski. “It is continuing to escalate and not de-escalate. I think we may have to take some safety measures.”
i dont see any ar15s in this picture. i dont see any firearms in this picture. i dont see any swastiks or confederate flags. so what if there was. it is called freedom of speech. sen theis you and the rest of your democratic cronies need to read the constitution. that would be what you swore to uphold.
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