AR-15 magazine flag
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In a move that expectedly has some anti-gunners losing their minds, a group of Michigan legislators have proposed a bill that, if approved, would make the AR-15 Michigan’s official state firearm. The move has sparked controversy, with some residents expressing concern about its potential impact on Michigan’s image. However, the move is not unprecedented, as nearly a dozen other states have official guns.

House Bill 5792 is being spearheaded by State Representative Brian BeGole and cosponsored by 11 other Michigan House Republicans. Begole has 32 years in law enforcement, including six years as the sheriff of Shiawassee County. He argues that the AR-15 is unfairly stigmatized and emphasizes that many people use the platform for hobbies such as target shooting, self-defense, and exercising their Second Amendment rights.

“More and more often, AR-15 owners are ostracized and criticized for their perfectly reasonable and legal decisions to possess a firearm. That’s just not right,” BeGole told News Channel 3 in Michigan.

However, not everyone agrees. Democratic Michigan Representative Christine Morse opposes the bill, citing the tragic context of recent mass shootings involving AR-15s. “Considering we had the mass shooting at Michigan State and Oxford in the past couple of years. To try to make a weapon like that be our state gun is really just sad for the people of Michigan and embarrassing,” said Morse.

Two state residents quoted in the News 3 report stated they are opposed to the choice, and then proceeded to show their lack of understanding of the firearms.

“It’s a killer, it’s used for the military for a certain reason to strike and kill people,” Tyron Sims, who served in the Navy, told the news station.

“Why would we even think we needed it,” said William Adams.

“AR-15, means it’s an assault rifle so it’s a military gun,” said Adams, mislabeling what “AR” stands for. Even News 3 corrected his mistake in the article saying,”It should be noted that the AR in AR-15 stands for ArmaLite Rifle, the company that developed it.”

News Channel 3 also noted that not every mass shooting involves an AR-15, but the weapon has been prominent in several high-profile incidents.

If the bill passes, Michigan would join a small group of states with official firearms, although it would be the only state to choose the AR-15 and the only one without a specific historical tie to its chosen firearm.

For example, Utah’s official gun, the classic Model 1911, was invented by Utah native John Browning. According to the NRA, the other states with official firearms include:

Arizona: Colt Single Action Army Revolver
Indiana: Grouseland Rifle
West Virginia: Hall Model 1819 Flintlock Rifle
Kentucky: Kentucky Long Rifle
Missouri: 1847 Colt Walker
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Long Rifle
Alaska: Pre-1964 Winchester Model 70
Tennessee: Barrett M82
Texas: 1847 Colt Walker

Despite the bill’s introduction, it is unlikely to become law under Governor Whitmer, who proclaimed June 7 as Gun Violence Awareness Day, just a day after the bill was filed.

Read the full details on House Bill 5792.

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66 COMMENTS

    • In Florida, the state bird is the mosquito… 😉

      • Theres a skeeter on my Peter
        Whack it off
        Theres a dozen on my cousin I can hear them bastards buzzing
        Theres a skeeter on my Peter
        Whack it off.

      • The no-seeums are much worse than the skeeters in Florida -at least where I spend my winters. By summer we are hundreds of miles north of there. The bugs, heat, humidity, and hurricanes make the place unbearable.

  2. Sensitive Gun Control zealots are going to have a cow like sensitive Gun talking blowbags on this forum have a cow everytime there is a review on a firearm Made in Turkey.

          • I used to buy Astra brand razors that were made in Turkey but I had to douse them in alcohol before I loaded them into my razor handle because those folks are so filthy and the thought of cutting myself with one of their blades made me ill just contemplating what I might catch. Now I buy Feather razor blades made in Japan by clean people from a clean culture. They might be three times as expensive as the filthy Turkish steel but they are easily twice as sharp and still only cost less than a half a buck a blade. I won’t buy anything made in Turkland by filthy musselmen. Worse yet the Astra blade division might be made in Turkey but they are owned by Gillette. I won’t buy anything from Gillette ever again either.

            • “I won’t buy anything from Gillette ever again either“

              I remember a rather gruff man several years ago yelling in my face, “why ain’t you shaved, you and old man Gillette having a fight?”

      • As often as she uses the word ‘blowbag’, something tells me she has ‘blowing’ on he mind… 😉

    • “Sensitive gun control zealots?”

      It seems the real victim is the poor defenseless AR15:

      “He argues that the AR-15 is unfairly stigmatized.. “

      Hilarious, snowflake whining the rifle’s feelings may be hurt…

      Remember, liberals own guns just like conservatives.

      We just don’t fetishize them…

      • Google searches and cut & paste don’t make you a gun owner. Would your mom even allow you to bring a gun down into her basement? Where would you get the money to buy one anyhow?

      • Liberals wet themselves over a PopTart that has been chewed into the shape of a gun.

      • Now wait a minute. Who is a “snowflake”? It seems you hoplophobe lefties are the snowflakes. I bet you all but melt every time you hear about an AR-15 or an AK47.

  3. So not the Mini-14 any more? Michigan has changed a lot since the last time I visited.

  4. Great trolling by the Michigan Repubs: They immediately drew out one bat-shit crazy “progressive” woman (Democratic Michigan Representative Christine Morse). She gave two examples of recent mass murders in Michigan as reasons not to have the AR-15 as the state’s official gun. Both shootings were carried out with handguns.

    • … maybe they should forget about the object used, and make the Official Mass Shooter of the State be a democrat voting whack-job far leftie, who was already on law-enforcement radar before the shootings took place with OTHER THAN AN AR RIFLE.
      That should give them the recognition that they seek.

      • Well, the article claims the AR to mean Armalite Rifle not ARmalite so it can’t be taken all to seriously.

        Great Fudd lore, though. Does it mean that crappy shotgun, the AR-17, had a rifled barrel? Gotsta wundah…

        • It is June so maybe a pride in American design flag with each stripe being a different eras dominant design?

        • Seems a waste with the barrel longer than 10 inches. 30 carbine was great but obviously not as readily available, 357sig similar issues, 30sc may be better but likely only marginally (velocity gain and capacity) also availability. 10mm may work out but may require particular loadings to shine……..damn I guess it’s 9mm for now

            • So MP5 and what else that can do a steady amount of it (not being a smartass just don’t know of anything good for +p+ smg loads offhand)?

        • A gunm designed by a felon shooting a cartridge developed by the germans, can not get much more American then that by golly.

    • Winchester 1873, the gun that won the West, should be the national gun.
      Or maybe the Winchester 1892, the gun that usually substituted for the 1873 in Western movies starring John Wayne and others.
      Or perhaps the Henry 1860 that helped (in small part) win the Civil War, “That d**n Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and fire all week!”

    • Best I can tell Rahimi offered no legal cover for red flag or related laws deficient in due process. But time will tell.

  8. Can they do something useful and get AK pattern rifles unbanned? This is throwing bread crumbs to the serfs.

      • I am greedy so both along with increased development into design improvements. Always more to learn and no telling what future designs may draw from.

        • It’s a putt that someone like PSA isn’t making Ruger Mini-14 and Mini-30 parts and complete kits/clones. There is a lot that can be done with the platform especially if one fixes some of the integral design flaws that Ruger failed to address in the decades they have been manufacturing them.

          The rifle has got to be out of trademark protections by now. It’s almost as old as the AR design and it was a copy of the M-14/Garand anyhow.

          • Sometimes the tooling and/or machining process can be expensive to set up and/or not cost effective for expected demand. There is also the starting of the endeavor during a ATF / Admin hostility

    • “Can they do something useful and get AK pattern rifles unbanned?”

      I thought that a certain percentage of AK parts made in America were exempt from that…

      • For most of the country AK pattern rifles face no ban re possession (see commie states for various exceptions) import bans are still in place making domestic production most of the current supply. As it turns out a quality AR is far cheaper to scale manufacturing for than a quality AK and the cheap prices many were used to for decades was the same milsurp effect that has about run it’s course for everything else. It would take massive cheap imports from Norinco to begin to drop AK prices in store and I wouldn’t think it would end up being by all that much.

  9. Publicity stunt, even if these dem poly-ticks knew an “AR” from their own shat they can rely on their voter base to believe and mimic every word. ‘Hive Mind’

  10. I would not want something that ugly to be my state firearm.
    A classic single shot, lever action or bolt action with AAA wood finish would be much more classy.

        • Cheap and dirty, made by the Mattel corporation for a low-bid contract. I’m surprised that Mattel isn’t really going to make their own ARs after all the jokes over the years. They aren’t doing so well with toys lately now that many Americans are not having as many kids (if any) and the ones that do are so hit by the economy that they don’t buy many toys any more.

  12. No state should be able to restrict firearms period! The constitution is to restrict government not the people!!! FJB !!!

    • Steve,,, Steve,,, ^ He’s saying bad things about President Biden and thinks the 2Ammedment is a Right.

  14. Perhaps a plan to induce strokes, heart attacks and suicides of the Communists within the state.

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