Senate bills call for banning guns from Michigan Capitol building

LANSING — A pair of state Senate bills introduced Tuesday call for banning guns from Michigan's Capitol.

The bills, introduced during a months-long fight over the building's weapons policy, would prohibit open and concealed carry of firearms inside the building. Michigan State Police officers and Capitol security would be exempt. Firearms still would be allowed on the Capitol lawn.

"The only reason most people bring firearms into the Capitol is to intimidate and that is not how the state's Capitol — the people's house — is designed to work, nor should it continue to be permissible," Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Beverly Hills, said in a release.