LANSING, MI — A gun rights plaque made of more than 18,000 melted shell casings would find a permanent home outside the Michigan Capitol under legislation debated Tuesday in Lansing.

The monument, which weighs 400 pounds and measures 4 feet by 6 feet, is inscribed with the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and a similar provision in the Michigan Constitution affirming "the right to keep and bear arms.”

The plaque was created by a group called Brass Roots, which hosted a large rally at the Michigan Capitol in 1994. Organizers, including Ted Nugent, asked activists to bring spent shell casings they would have otherwise saved as keepsakes.

House Bill 5595, sponsored by Republican Rep. Martin Howrylak of Troy, would allow the Michigan Capitol Parks Commission to receive and display the monument, provided there is no cost to the state.

“To be able to display a piece of history for free I think is a very good deal for Michigan taxpayers,” Howrylak said after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee took testimony but did not vote on his bill.

Howrylak said he’d be open to pairing the Second Amendment plaque with a First Amendment monument highlighting the right to free speech.

John Koon, who helped organized the 1994 gun rally while running for the U.S. Senate on the Libertarian ticket, urged lawmakers to accept the monument, which is currently being stored in Holt, and recognize activists who showed up that day.

“People came from Iron Mountain, Marquette, Alpena, Traverse City, everywhere — seven thousand of them,” Koon said. “…Our political system absolutely needs the commitment of people like these.”

State Sen. Mike Green, R-Mayville, is sponsoring identical legislation in the upper chamber. The state House approved a similar measure in 2005 but the Senate did not take it up that year.

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.