Fairfax, VA - Today, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law a two-bill package, backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), making the “Emergency Powers Protection Act” the law of the land in Michigan (HB 6363 and HB 6364). The new laws prevent local governments from confiscating lawfully owned firearms during declared states of emergency, as witnessed in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

“The Second Amendment achieved an historic triumph in Michigan today,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist. “With this signing into law of Michigan’s ‘Emergency Powers Protection Act’, law-abiding Michiganders can rest assured they and their Constitutional freedoms will not suffer the same chaotic fate as those citizens of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. NRA promised to fight to ensure the dismantling of the Second Amendment and the gun confiscations we saw in New Orleans is never repeated anywhere in America, and we are devoted to fulfilling our promise.”

In the first year since Hurricane Katrina, state legislatures in Alaska, Idaho, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and Louisiana passed measures that echo the spirit of Michigan’s “Emergency Powers Protection Act”.

Last fall, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed a similar federal bill with broad, bipartisan support, which President Bush signed in October 2006.

In December 2006, the Michigan bills received overwhelming, bipartisan support in both chambers, passing 37-1 in the State Senate and unanimously in the State House, 105-0.

“On behalf of thousands of NRA members in Michigan, I want to thank State Rep. Scott Hummel for his leadership and commitment to bringing the “Emergency Powers Protection Act” to passage in both chambers of the legislature. I also want to thank Michigan’s Governor, Jennifer Granholm, for signing this fundamental legislation into law,” concluded Cox.

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Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group.  Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime.  The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.