Tag: Day care

Not a fail. The governor acknowledged a concern expressed by some schools:

"Snyder had urged that SB 59 be modified to more significantly restrict pistols in those zones by prohibiting open-carry in such places, in exchange for allowing only concealed pistols to be carried if license holders receive additional training - subject to the right of the property owners to prohibit concealed carrying if they desire. Under the bill as passed, only private venues can opt out, as can college universities with constitutional autonomy.

"While we must vigilantly protect the rights of law-abiding firearm owners, we also must ensure the right of designated public entities to exercise their best discretion in matters of safety and security," he said. "These public venues need clear legal authority to ban firearms on their premises if they see fit to do so."

Nope.  Maybe not a failed test, but a weak response, akin to steering into a skid; guaranteeing a wipe out at some point. Instead of giving the school workers options to arm themselves in the event of an invasion, they remain vulnerable to the attacks like those in Aurora and Newtown where a single bullet could have ended the carnage early. Snyder says

"This type of violence often leaves society with more questions than answers. The reasons for such appalling acts usually are numerous and complex. With that in mind, we must consider legislation like SB 59 in a holistic manner. While the bill's goal is to help prevent needless violence, Michigan will be better served if we view it through a variety of lenses. A thoughtful review that examines issues such as school emergency policies, disenfranchised youth and mental health services may lead to more answers and better safeguards."

I would guess that before the lights went out, at least ONE of those in the front office wish they had a way in which to deal with the insanity that was unfolding in front of them. At least one of them armed, would have at least had the potential to change the dynamics in a way to turn the little SOB around, if for no other reason than unexpected resistance. Its understandable why the guv went the way he did, but its getting old, and the disrespect for life being bred into our violently over-gamed, trained killers is getting too dangerous to ignore.  

A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Human Services today told the Mackinac Center for Public Policy that on March 18 the department will stop withdrawing so-called "union dues" from subsidy checks to home-based day care providers who supply child care services to low-income families. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed suit against the DHS in 2009 to stop the illegal withdrawals.

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation assisted provider Sherry Loar in her fight against forced unionization.  The new DHS director (and former Michigan Supreme Court Justice)Maura Corrigan  has said [paraphrased] "those providers are NOT Employees of the state"

Indeed.

In Loar v. DHS, state's meager 12-page Supreme Court brief concedes the main issue by never addressing it, notes Mackinac Center attorney

In a filing yesterday with the Michigan Supreme Court in the lawsuit Loar v. DHS, Mackinac Center attorney Patrick J. Wright lodged a response to a Department of Human Services brief that he later described as a "thin hodge-podge of technicalities." The filing by Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, called on the Supreme Court to immediately rule in favor of the home day care business owners the Mackinac Center represents in the case.