(WXYZ) — Turning now to the effort to bring an end to gun violence in michigan.
On Thursday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed off on new reforms she and others hope will save lives.
She's calling the new bills, common-sense measures as the new laws simply mandate background checks and registrations for all firearms purchased in the state as well as requiring gun owners to keep firearms and ammo locked up whenever minors are around.
"Right now only pistols require a background check but long guns and shotguns do not. That doesn't make any sense," Governor Whitmer said.
The new guidance comes on the heels of two mass school shootings in the state. One at Oxford High School and the other on the Michigan State University campus.
Caleb Watson has a brother who was shot but survived at Oxford.
"It means a lot. I can't even express how grateful I am that we are at this point and there are people in government willing to make sure these things don't happen again," he said.
"It's a really emotional day," State Senator Kristen McDonald-Rivet said. "For the last 7 years I've been a part of my local moms demand action group. We're celebrating, but also remembering, with a lot of sadness and grief, people we lost while we waited."
She adds that the work doesn’t stop here.
"We need to be talking about how we're going to teach kids about social, emotional curriculum learning. Crisis intervention. Behavioral threat assessments. A comprehensive approach is needed," she said.
