LANSING, Mich – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation today that would make it more difficult for individuals with convictions for misdemeanor domestic violence to gain access to guns.

Federal law already prohibits those charged with felonies or misdemeanors related to domestic violence from purchasing or possessing a gun. But advocates have pushed for state-level laws that they say can be better enforced and won’t be threatened by future Supreme Court rulings.

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“These laws are based on a simple idea: if you’ve been found guilty in court for violently assaulting your partner, you shouldn’t be able to access a deadly weapon that you could use to further threaten, harm, or kill them,” said Gov. Whitmer

Under the bill, a person convicted of a misdemeanor involving domestic violence could not possess, use, transport, sell, purchase, carry, ship, receive, or distribute a firearm or ammunition in Michigan until the person met all the requirements described above and eight years had passed after meeting them. The penalty described above also would apply to a violation of the bill’s prohibition.

“Misdemeanor involving domestic violence” would mean a misdemeanor that is punishable by imprisonment for no more than one year and is one of the following offenses:

—   Assault and battery.

—   Assault without a weapon that inflicts serious or aggravated injury upon an individual without intent to commit murder or to inflict great bodily harm.

—   Breaking and entering or entering without breaking any dwelling without first obtaining permission.

—   Vulnerable adult abuse.

—   Willful and malicious destruction of personal property of another person.

—   Willful and malicious destruction of another person’s house, barn, or other building or its appurtenances.

—   Stalking.

—   Criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree.

—   Use of any telecommunications service with intent to terrorize, intimidate, or harass another person.

—   A violation of an ordinance, law of another state, or Federal law that substantially corresponded with the violations listed above.

—   A violation of an ordinance, law of another state, or Federal law specifically designated as domestic violence.

In addition to meeting the circumstances described above, the misdemeanor would have to include any of the following:

—   The victim is the convicted person’s spouse or former spouse.

—   The victim has or had a dating relationship with the convicted person.

—   The victim has or had a child in common with the convicted person.

—   The victim is a resident or former resident of the convicted person’s household.

—   The convicted person is the victim’s parent or guardian.

(“Dating relationship” means frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement. This term does not include a causal relationship or an ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in a business or social context.)