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Lawmaker introduces bill to allow signs in Capitol on Open Carry Day

sign at the state capitol
Cheyna Roth
/
Michigan Radio

A democratic state lawmaker wants the state Capitol to reverse its ban on signs.

The Capitol currently prohibits protestors and other people from bringing signs into the building.

“I just think that is an absolute limit, and unnecessary limit on somebody’s free right to express themselves in this building,” said bill sponsor, Democratic Senator Jeremy Moss.

Moss said the state’s priorities are backwards. That’s because people can openly carry firearms into the state Capitol on a daily basis, but not signs.

“Retailers across the country have said open carry doesn’t make an environment any safer, but in this Capitol, we’re saying poster board doesn’t make our state Capitol any safer,” said Moss.

In the wake of mass shootings last month, some retailers are asking their customers to not openly carry firearms in its stores. Those include Walmart, Kroger and Meijer.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
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