Michigan's gun storage law lacks penalties and clear guidance

Most Michigan school districts have blown past the deadline to tell parents about the state's gun storage law, according to a new audit from a gun control group, and critics say the mandate itself has no teeth and no clear guidance for families.

Snapshot

Michigan's "Safe Homes, Safe Schools" law, in effect since February 2025, requires public and private schools to give parents information on firearm storage rules. A website review by End Gun Violence Michigan found roughly 58 percent of the state's school districts are not in compliance, based on what the group could find posted online. Advocates like Sherri Masson of Statewide Indivisible Michigan and State Rep. Sharon MacDonell had flagged the October deadline as approaching last month.

Key points

• The audit: End Gun Violence Michigan checked over 500 district websites and reported that less than half were following the law, though the group admits it couldn't confirm whether information actually reached parents at home.
• No penalty: Lauren Jasinski of End Gun Violence Michigan says the law carries no consequences for districts that ignore it, making it an unfunded, unenforceable mandate.
• The storage rule: Michigan's Department of Education says firearms must be unloaded and locked up whenever a minor is reasonably expected to be present.
• The self-defense gap: The statute exempts minors who access a firearm for self-defense, but Bearing Arms columnist Cam Edwards notes the law never explains how parents can legally set that access up in advance without violating storage requirements.

Quick take

The compliance numbers get the headlines, but the real issue raised by Cam Edwards is what happens to families who try to follow the law in good faith. If schools are going to publicize the storage mandate, he argues, they owe parents the whole picture, including a self-defense exception nobody has figured out how to use safely.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com