Sister Of Oxford School Shooting Victim Voices Safe Gun Storage

OXFORD, MI — The older sister of an Oxford school shooting victim joined Michigan lawmakers Tuesday in urging the state's legislature to pass a package that would mandate the safe storage of guns.

Reina St. Juliana, a junior at Oxford High School, was the big sister to Hana St. Juliana, who was one of four students killed in the deadly Oxford school shooting on Nov. 30. Justin Shilling, Madisyn Baldwin and Tate Myre were also killed in the attack, as well as seven other people who were injured in the shooting.

St. Juliana said during the news conference - which was livestreamed to social media - that her sister might still be alive if lawmakers had acted on the legislation when it was first introduced in the state's legislature in June.

"I have difficulty understanding why it has not been passed and implemented. It could have saved my sister," St. Juliana said. "I could have spent my Christmas with Hana. I could have begun 2022 with my favorite person by my side. And we could have had our family dinners without an open missing seat at the dining table."

Five months before the deadly attack at Oxford High School, in which authorities said 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley used a gun he got from his parents' sock drawer to carry to the attack, Democrats introduced several bills that would hold adults accountable for failing to safety store their firearms. Democratic Michigan Representative Elissa Slotkin has introduced a similar bill in the U.S. House.

Jennifer and James Crumbley, Ethan's parents, were each charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter after authorities said their son took a gun from their dresser drawer to commence the attack at Oxford High School. The couple has maintained the gun was properly stored and that Ethan did not have easy access to it.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, who is leading the case against the couple, has expressed frustration with the parents' role in the attack for not only missing what she says were distributing warning signs, but also for the state's "woefully inadequate" gun laws, which don't require people to secure a deadly weapon.

Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills capitalized on McDonald's comments and said during the news conference "we have the privilege of being able to actually do something about this."

The package would require gun owners to safely secure their guns in a container or locked with a locking mechanism to prevent access by a minor. If the owner fails to safely secure the gun, and if a minor gets hold of it and possess it in a public place or threatens another person with it, the owner would be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 93 days and a $500 fine. If the minor were to use it to harm or kill himself or another person, would be guilty of a felony, punishable by up to five years or a $5,000 fine.

However, the package exempts any owner responsibility if a minor was granted permission by the parents to use the gun for employment, ranching, farming, target practice or hunting. In addition, owners would be not be guilty if a minor were to use the gun in self-defense or defense of another.

While the Republican led Michigan legislature has long opposed any gun-control measure and has not brought the bills to the floor for debate, they are considering bringing a bill to the floor that would allow a judge to authorize police to take guns from an individual if there is a belief the person poses a risk to themselves or others.