Oakland County, MI Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who has filed murder charges against the teenage suspect in the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting rampage and manslaughter charges against his parents, now appears to be lobbying for additional gun control laws in the state.
According to the Detroit News, McDonald was interviewed by WDET-FM in Detroit Wednesday, contending that the state’s existing gun laws do not adequately protect public safety. Specifically, she intimated the state needs a safe storage law.
“There are many responsible gun owners but there is no safe storing (law) in Michigan. We don’t require people to secure a deadly weapon,” she stated. “I don’t see asking that in any way restricts anyone’s right to possess a gun.”
McDonald said she grew up in a home with firearms, and is not anti-gun.
The Detroit News inexplicably noted in its story, “Gun owners, unless they are licensed to carry a concealed weapon, are required to store weapons and ammunition separately when moving them in a vehicle.”
However, the teenage suspect didn’t drive to school because he is only 15. He certainly isn’t old enough to have a concealed carry license.
McDonald also spoke with WXYZ about gun control, and explained her decision to charge the parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.
“But it was a series of events taken as whole that are absolutely criminal I believe,” she said. “If parents disclosed he has access to a gun, to the extent he did, those four children would still be alive. I am certain of it. It is absolutely not just a failure to secure a firearm purchased for that individual with access to it.”
During the WXYZ interview, McDonald said she would be in the courtroom during the trial(s) rather than on the sidelines.
The teen suspect had access to the pistol allegedly used in the attack that left four students dead and seven other people wounded. It has been widely reported the handgun had been purchased just days before the shooting, by James Crumbley, and that the teen had indicated on social media it was an early Christmas present. Four days later, he opened fire at the school after having been brought to the office for a meeting with school officials and his parents.
The shooting has become a launch pad for legislation not just in Michigan but in other states. With legislative sessions on the horizon, watch for more anti-gun lawmakers to use the Oxford case as a reason to introduce gun control bills.
