Should Michigan Have an AR-15 as State Firearm?

Michigan has a dozen official state symbols that do not include the state flag, seal, or motto, but should this hunting state have an AR-15 as the state firearm?

Michigan State Symbols

All 50 states have state symbols with Texas having the most with 70. Michigan currently has 12 with the state stone being the Petoskey stone.  Every summer many Michiganders look along the beaches of Lake Michigan for these sought-after stones. I've only found one but my son has located three.

Michigan named the robin the state bird in 1931 which makes sense since these birds are seen everywhere.

The brook trout is Michigan's state fish which makes sense to use a fish from the trout family. All of the state symbols we have to represent Michigan make sense. See a list below of the items that represent what Michigan is:

• State Flower - Apple Blossom
• State Tree - White Pine
• State Game Animal - White-Tailed Deer
• State Reptile - Painted Turtle
• State Soil - Kalkaska Sand
• State Wildflower - Dwarf Lake Iris
• State Gem - Isle Royale Greenstone
• State Fossil - Mastodon
• State Native Grain - Michigan Wild Rice

All of these symbols exemplify Michigan. So should the state firearm be an AR-15?

Read More: Should Gun Safety & Hunting Courses Be Offered in MI Schools? 

Lawmaker Wants the AR-15 to Be the State Firearm

According to WOOD, Republican Representative Brian BeGole from Antrim Township proposed a bill that would make the AR-15 the state firearm for Michigan but does this weapon represent Michiganders? BeGole's reasoning is to remove the stigma of AR-15 and change its image in the public. You know, the gun that is used in most mass shootings stigma?

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Michigan is well known for its whitetail deer hunting. This is why the state game animal was chosen as the whitetail deer. I am sure there are a few people who hunt them with an AR-15 but you can only have a few shells in the gun and not have the clip filled to the max. Most people use the firearm as protection and target shooting but the weapon doesn't represent Michigan as a whole. Making an AR-15 a state firearm is not the way to teach people the gun is for protection and I'm not sure having a state gun is necessary but you would think at 30-30 or 30.06 would be more of the choice since that is what many use to hunt whitetail deer in the state. Even a 12-gauge shotgun makes more sense since you can't use rifles in the lower section of the Lower Peninsula. I'm a gun owner and a hunter and this is a dumb idea. Michigan legislators should get back to work on items that make the quality of life better for all Michiganders instead of wasting time on dumb legislation.