‘We’re not going to put up with it’ Lansing officials ask for help combating gun violence

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - On Thursday, Lansing officials spoke out about the city’s gun violence issue, asking the Michigan Legislature for help. Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said there is an enormous amount of guns in Lansing and the problem needs to be dealt with.

To get ahead of the gun violence epidemic, Sosebee and Lansing Mayor Andy Schor wrote a list of anti-gun violence proposals, including consequences for altering legal guns into illegal guns and limiting magazine capacity.

“These proposals can help hold...those folks accountable for a vast majority of our violent gun crime,” said Chief Sosebee.

Anti-gun violence advocate Michael Lynn Jr said he’s concerned that new laws will negatively affect people who follow the rules.

”Most criminals aren’t checking the law books to figure out whether or not they’re going to commit the ultimate sin of murder,” said Lynn Jr.

Chief Sosebee said so far in 2023, police have responded to a total of 944 shots fired and have seized over 400 firearms in the city.

“We need to teach our youth the dangers of guns and we need to teach the parents as well,” said McKissic.

Michael McKissic founded Mikey23 after losing his son to gun violence in 2015, now he helps city youth stay out of trouble and on the right track by doing construction work.

“We’re not going to put up with it anymore and we’re taking a hard stance on gun crime,” said Chief Sosebee.

Lawmakers, Law enforcement, and community members all have the same goal in mind, keeping children safe.

Mayor Schor said the city’s list of proposals was given to Michigan State Representative Emily Dievendorf to distribute to fellow lawmakers.

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