State Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills)

LANSING, MI - State Rep. Tom McMillin joined open-carry advocates outside the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday, announcing new legislation that would make it easier for residents to challenge local gun rules that conflict with state law and penalize elected officials who might enforce them.

McMillin, speaking to a crowd of roughly 200 gun-toting residents following a "

" in Lansing,

said his pending bill would strengthen the Michigan firearm preemption law of 1990, which was designed to ensure uniform gun rules across the state.

"There are ordinances that cities have that violate state law by saying residents can't open carry where state law says they can," the Rochester Hills Republican told MLive later Tuesday. "They're pretty much unenforceable, but cities like Grand Rapids have used them to harass citizens and limit their Second Amendment rights."

The legislation, which has not yet been introduced, would give municipalities up to 90 days to repeal any gun ordinances or regulations that conflict with state law.

Failure to do so would make a local unit of government liable for any legal costs if a "adversely affected" individual or organization challenged the ordinance in court. Elected or appointed officials found to have "knowingly and willfully enacted or enforced" a gun rule that conflicts with state law would be fined up to $5,000.

McMillin said the proposal is a direct response to an ongoing open-carry debate in Grand Rapids, where officials have declined to amend a 1960s-era gun ordinance despite a persistent push from advocates who attend City Commission meetings with holstered guns on their hips.

Mayor George Heartwell has publicly feuded with open-carry advocates at the commission meetings and argued their presence may have a "chilling effect" on the free speech rights of other residents. While he has acknowledged that the local ordinance is unenforceable, Heartwell has suggested the need for a new state law prohibiting handguns in public meetings and voting stations.

McMillin said Grand Rapids has developed a reputation for being "hostile to Second Amendment rights, and this is push back on that."

Tom Lambert, assistant legislative director for Michigan Open Carry Inc., said that Grand Rapids is not the only city with outdated gun ordinances. He claimed the city of Lansing has four local rules that conflict with state law, which does not directly establish a citizen's right to openly carry a firearm but does not forbid it either.

"It amazes me the irony that's lost on these people," said Lambert, a Kentwood resident who addressed the pro-gun crowd following McMillin. "The vast majority of the time those who have flaunted how easy it is to ignore a law have simultaneously pushed more rules for you to follow."

Grand Rapids state Rep. Brandon Dillon, a Democrat who sponsored open-carry legislation to clarify exactly what it means to "brandish" a firearm, said he is "all for the Second Amendment" but is concerned that McMillin's bill is too punitive.

"Personally, I think this is escalating to a point it doesn't need to," Dillon said of the local dispute that inspired the state legislation. "If Michigan law allows them to carry firearms in this manner, we need to be very careful about stepping on those rights. But I wish both sides on this one might pull back a little bit.

"It's really become kind of an unnecessary distraction toward what the Second Amendment is really about, and that's people being able to keep and bear arms for self-protection and other lawful activities. I think this is turning into more of a standoff that I think should be deescalated."

McMillin is running for the U.S. House and is scheduled to kick off his campaign this weekend in Clarkston alongside West Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash.

Former state lawmaker Mike Bishop, who is set to face McMillin in the 8th Congressional District Republican primary, was also at the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday for an unrelated Senate ceremony.

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