Only Half Of Michigan Schools Complying With Safe Firearm Storage Information Deadline

Michigan Advance

September 28, 2026

Less than a week out from the annual deadline in Michigan’s Safe Homes, Safe Schools law, which requires school districts to distribute information about safe firearm storage each year, half of Michigan’s schools had not yet complied with that law, according to Sherri Masson, a member of Statewide Indivisible Michigan.

Rep. Sharon MacDonell (D-Troy), a sponsor of that legislation, explained that the law requires the distribution of that information before October of each school year.

“Guns are the number one cause of death for children, and every single one of those deaths is preventable. But it’s going to take an all-of-society effort if we’re ever going to solve this problem in America. Every family, every leader, every school,” MacDonell said at a Sept. 24 press conference hosted by End Gun Violence Michigan. “Now is the time. October is coming. The deadline’s coming up. Please remember to comply with the Safe Homes, Safe Schools Law.”

The press conference was hosted in the wake of two incidents that stemmed from a lack of safe firearm storage — an accidental gun discharge in a third-grader’s backpack at a Battle Creek elementary school on Sept. 22, in which no one was hurt, and the death of a 3-year-old boy who was shot by an unsecured firearm in Pontiac on Sept. 16.

Deleah Sharp, the founder of Pontiac gun violence prevention organization Identify Your Dream, emphasized in the press conference that just because a child has been warned about the dangers of guns does not mean that they will not be curious about or look for a gun in the home. It is the responsibility of the adults present, she continued, to create a safe environment.

“He should have had an entire lifetime ahead of him: first days of school, birthdays, graduations, dreams we will never get to know, and that’s why we’re standing here today,” Sharp said of Michael McClendon, the child who died in Pontiac. “Not to shame a grieving family, not to politicize the death of a child, but to make sure another family doesn’t have to experience this kind of loss. If you choose to have a firearm in your home, especially a home where children live and visit, please secure it.”

Now, just days before the statutory deadline of Oct. 1 for school districts to publicize safe firearm storage information, Masson said that some schools are going above and beyond the legal requirements — Sharp highlighted programs in Detroit that make gun locks available and in Jackson that require parents to sign an acknowledgement about safe firearm storage.

“We’re off to a really great start, but we can do better. As of September 1, 50% of the school districts are complying with the Safe Homes Safe Schools law. We’re going to be releasing a report card after the October deadline, but we want to remind schools now. Now is the time to get the word out,” she said. “Local communities are really stepping up, but too many still haven’t gotten the message out.”

Skye Thietten, a safe firearm storage community educator for End Gun Violence Michigan, similarly said that more can always be done to reduce firearm incidents and deaths, and that over time, the numbers of unintended shootings involving children will continue to decline.

Ryan Bates, executive director of End Gun Violence Michigan, meanwhile, emphasized the bipartisan nature of support for these types of education and safety reforms.

“70% of Michigan voters support safe storage, support universal background checks, support extreme risk protection orders-a red flag law, and the majority of gun owners support those laws. Only 23% of Michigan voters want to repeal these laws,” he said. “I think now that the laws are in place, people are seeing that their lives, their communities, their children are safer, and that we’ve respected the rights of responsible gun owners.”

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