Gun rights supporters in the Michigan House are working to decriminalize certain firearm-related offenses as part of a larger effort to roll back regulations on gun ownership and use in the state.

House Republicans named protecting second amendment rights as one of its top priorities this session. So far, many of the gun-related bills taken up for hearings focus on reducing existing penalties for violating Michigan’s current gun laws or removing restrictions on certain gun use.

In the House, legislation that would decrease the punishment for carrying a concealed pistol with an expired license from a felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, a $2,500 fine or both to a civil fine of $330 if the license had lapsed in the previous year passed on the floor with bipartisan support.

Another bill that would let a person transport a loaded shotgun on private property in a car, all terrain vehicle or four wheeler also cleared the House floor.

Another pair of bills recently passed out of the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee, House Bills 4200 and 4201, would reduce the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon in prohibited areas to a civil infraction for the first offense.

Currently, state law mandates punishments based on the number of offenses of carrying concealed in prohibited areas like schools, churches, sports arenas and hospitals. A first offense is a civil infraction punishable by up to a $500 fine and a six-month license suspension, a second offense is a misdemeanor coupled with revocation of the person’s concealed pistol license and a third offense is a felony.

As introduced, those bills would have made any violation a civil infraction punishable by up to a $100 fine, with no license suspensions.

Amendments made at the committee level made the first offense a $250 civil infraction, but made the second violation a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, 90 days imprisonment and the possibility of a license revocation. A third offense committed within a five-year period would be a felony punishable by 2 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000 and revocation of the person’s license.

Those amendments won the bills preliminary support from two of the committee’s Democrats, Reps. Jewell Jones of Detroit and John Chirkun of Roseville. The bills were referred to the House Judiciary Committee for additional review under a new two-step committee process in a 7-2 vote.

When initially discussing the bill in committee, Chirkun said he was open to reducing penalties for first or second-time offenders, but said a person who’s been caught a third time carrying concealed in a prohibited area “needs to go to jail as far as I’m concerned.”

“If a guy makes a mistake once, shame on them,” he said. “Whoever has that gun and gets caught the third time in a gun free zone, they’re stupid. That’s the bottom line.”

Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, chairs the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee. He isn’t shy about his belief that there should be less restrictions on carrying weapons in Michigan, and has sponsored several bills to that effect this session.

He said he realizes he and most Democrats - including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer - don’t see eye-to-eye on gun policies, but is hopeful the prospect of decriminalizing certain aspects of the state’s gun laws will appeal across the aisle.

“Putting people in jail for silly violations do nothing to help – and in this case, do nothing but hinder – public safety,” he said. “We’re going to see what we can get to the governor’s desk that she will be interested in, or at least begrudgingly sign,” he said.

Gideon D’Assandro, spokesperson for House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said the speaker sees overlap between gun rights issues and ongoing criminal justice reform efforts, another of the caucus’ top priorities this session.

“A lot of this is not just expanding access - it’s decriminalizing what are superfluous penalties,” he said.

It’s unclear how those efforts will fare if they ultimately reach the governor’s desk.

Zach Pohl, Whitmer’s communications director, said in a statement that the administration considers gun violence to be a public health crisis, adding the governor “looks forward to working with the legislature to implement common-sense gun violence prevention issues that will help to keep our communities safe.”

“While no single law will completely eliminate all types of gun violence, we know that putting laws into effect and strengthening existing laws that work to reduce gun violence saves lives,” Pohl said.

Legislative Democrats have introduced several plans of their own to modify the state’s gun laws - a bicameral package introduced in February would let Michigan judges issue an “extreme risk protection order” temporarily preventing a person from buying or possessing a gun if law enforcement or family members can prove they pose a serious risk.

Another set of bills introduced by House Democrats would make unsafe storage of a firearm a misdemeanor and exempt firearm safety devices from sales and use taxes.

Neither of those bill packages have been taken up for a hearing.

State Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, is one of the lead sponsors on the gun storage legislation, and sits on the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee. She said she’s not convinced the proposals to lessen penalties for violating gun laws already on the books in the state would be beneficial.

“It’s a trend to make it easier for folks to own a firearm and do so irresponsibly,” she said. “When my constituents look at this...the response has been overwhelmingly against chipping away slowly at any sort of restrictions."

To become law, bills need to pass the House and Senate and be signed by the governor.

Read more about some of the gun-related bills introduced in the Michigan legislature this session: