Kalamazoo chief stands with Gabby Giffords on gun control coalition

Jeff Hadley

Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley. (MLive File Photo)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- A local voice will serve on a national non-partisan coalition for responsible weapons use.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Jeff Hadley serves on the advisory committee of the Law Enforcement Coalition for Common Sense, an initiative started by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly. Twenty law enforcement officers from across the country serve on the advisory committee, of which Hadley is the sole Michigan representative.

The coalition is an initiative of Americans for Responsible Solutions, which was organized by Giffords in 2013 after 26 children were killed in shooting at a Newtown, Conn. elementary school, and two years after she survived a 2011 assassination attempt in Tuscon, Ariz.

Giffords was critically injured by a gunshot wound to the head, while 13 others were injured and six were killed in the shooting, among them federal judge John Roll and a 9-year-old child.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Navy combat veteran and NASA astronaut Captain Mark Kelly, are the co-founders of the gun violence prevention organization Americans for Responsible Solutions. They also created the Law Enforcement Coalition for Common Sense to reduce gun violence and oppose legislation that poses a threat to public safety. Kelly was photographed with Giffords aboard the Endeavour space shuttle in 2015. (PRNewsFoto/California Science Center Founda)

The group will urge Congress to support responsible change that respects Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens, while keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals.

It specifically opposes two pieces of legislation that would federally mandate concealed carry and lift restrictions on firearm silencers.

"(The coalition) is not anti-gun, its really about having a law enforcement voice for some of the current legislation proposed," Hadley said. "I think that we have to think about legislation that is coming down, not from a Democrat or Republican perspective, but from a common sense perspective. I think it's just taking a pause and thinking long and hard about what could be the unintended consequences of legislation."

Hadley said deregulating silencers can pose a safety threat to law enforcement officers, and couldn't think of the benefit silencers would have to citizens seeking to defend themselves.

A bill to deregulate silencers, the Hearing Protection Act of 2017, was introduced Jan. 9 by Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C. and Rep. John Carter, R-Tex. It would retroactively remove a $200 tax on suppressors, and remove them from regulation under the National Firearms Act, in the name of reducing shooters' hearing loss.

The bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations on Feb. 6.

"Basic earplugs you can buy at a gun store have much a higher decibel rating than a silencer does," Hadley said. "I don't think we would want to give anyone the ability to attach a silencer that can't be heard by law enforcement."

Officers respond to shots fired calls frequently, Hadley said. Not knowing where gunshots originated from can leave them vulnerable. Between 2006 and 2015, 521 law enforcement officers were fatally shot in the United States.

On the eve of the six-year anniversary of the shooting death of Eric Zapata, Hadley said gun violence toward officers always weighs on his mind. Zapata became the first Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer to be killed in the line of duty on April 18, 2011, shot while coming to the aid of a fellow officer responding to a report of gunshots in the city's Edison neighborhood.

Prosecutors said the gunshots were fired by Leonard Statler, who had been drinking with his brother Kim Statler and another sibling at Kim's house. A few minutes later, Leonard returned to his home across the street. He was sitting on the front porch when Officer Jon Schipper arrived.

After firing several shots at Schipper, Leonard Statler fled into a dark alley. He came upon Zapata, who had jumped a fence into the alley while coming to Schipper's aid, and shot Zapata twice at close range with a high-powered rifle before turning the gun on himself.

"(Zapata) was basically assassinated," Hadley said. "There really wasn't any reason for (Leonard) to have what was an assault weapon. I just can't for the life of me think of the practical reason why someone needs that type of weapon."

The coalition also opposes a bill that would create concealed carry reciprocity across the nation.

The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 was introduced on Jan. 3 by Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., and would amend the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun in another state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms.

Additionally, the bill allows a qualified individual to carry or possess a concealed handgun in a school zone and in federally owned lands that are open to the public. It was also referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Hadley said creating a federal mandate for concealed carry would make it easier for Michigan residents who don't qualify for the permit to obtain it in other states.

"If a state had a very thin process for background checks and doesn't take much to (obtain) a permit, I may get one there when maybe I couldn't get it in six other states," Hadley said. "You may have a flooding of people going to particular states."

The Kalamazoo police chief is not opposed to concealed carry permits, but doesn't believe that more guns in a community necessarily make the community safer. It also means guns are more likely to be stolen, he said, or made accessible to people who shouldn't have them.

Hadley attended a launch event in Washington D.C. for coalition on Feb. 13. The event included a panel discussion on Capitol Hill regarding the importance of responsible gun ownership and the role of law enforcement in the gun violence prevention debate.

Also serving on the coalition is retired director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Todd Jones, Charles H. Ramsey, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, Congresswoman and former Orlando police chief Val Demings, D-Fla.

"Now is the time for Congress to close the gaping loopholes in our nation's gun laws with responsible solutions, and reject irresponsible calls to mandate the unrestricted 'concealed carry' of firearms and allow free access to dangerous silencers," Kelly said in a statment. "(Both) present a menacing new threat to our nation's communities and law enforcement professionals."

The coalition will work to strengthen existing laws by cracking down on gun trafficking and closing loopholes in the background check system that allows felons, domestic abusers and mentally ill to buy guns. It will also work to ensure law enforcement officers have the resources, tools and training they need to prevent gun tragedies and keep our communities safe.

"Stopping gun violence takes courage - the courage to do what's right, and the courage of new ideas," Giffords said. "I've seen great courage when my life was on the line. Now is the time to come together."

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