Michigan Republican legislators propose designating the AR-15 as the official state firearm

In addition to state flowers, birds, and other animals, a group of 12 Republican lawmakers in Michigan have proposed another state symbol for the Great Lakes state: A gun.

Michigan House Republicans sponsored a bill that would designate the AR-15, a popular semi-automatic rifle, as the state’s gun and add it to Michigan’s list of state symbols. The move has upset some Michiganders and state Democrats, who view the decision as unnecessary.

“Considering we had the mass shootings 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,” Democratic state Rep. Christine Morse said.

Republican state Rep. Brian BeGole, the bill’s sponsor, disagreed saying, “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.”

Ten other states have a gun included in their list of state symbols, with Missouri most recently adding the Hawken Rifle alongside the Eastern bluebird and hawthorn blossom. Michigan, however, would be the first state to have an AR-15 as its state gun. Other states usually pick their state gun based on its history with the state, but the AR-15 has no direct ties to Michigan.

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“Michigan was the arsenal of democracy in WWII, so we probably made a lot of different guns and cannons, so maybe we should pick one of those,” one Michigan resident, William Adams, who served in the Navy, told CBS 3 News. He noted lawmakers should focus on more pressing matters in the state.

The bill is unlikely to move forward with Democrats in complete control of Michigan’s government. The bill was filed on June 7, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) proclaimed as Gun Violence Awareness Day.