North Kent News

Rep. Jim Lower (R-Greenville) recently responded to the news that gunmen allegedly stormed the Michigan State House.

According to a a recent post on Lower’s Facebook page, Democrats have exaggerated the incident of only a few armed men carrying weapons openly and shouting at members in the Senate gallery.

“Gunmen never stormed the Capitol," Lowers wrote in the Facebook post. "A few men with guns were open-carrying in the Senate gallery four months ago. Unfortunately, they yelled at a few Senators from the gallery. This frightened the Senators (which is understandable). I can recall several times when left-wing activists yelled at members from the House gallery. Yelling at House or Senate members from the gallery is already not allowed under the rules. The men in the gallery gained access through a normal and usual process. Obviously by yelling at members, they have not helped their open-carry cause.”

Rep. Jim Lower | Michigan House Republicans

Lower says that Democrats are trying to take advantage of the incident.

“Democrats are now trying use this incident to politicize the Michigan Capitol Commission. This commission is simply in charge of maintenance and upkeep, not setting Capitol building policy. We have this commission in place to keep the process of caring for this historical site from becoming political. Before we had this nonpolitical process, the building fell into disrepair because politicians continually acted like politicians when it came to maintenance issues," Lower wrote in his Facebook post.

“Any decisions about gun policies in the Capitol will be made by the proper authority, which is the Michigan Legislature. Not a nonpartisan commission in charge of building and grounds upkeep," Lower told his constituents.