By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

LANSING, Mich. – Gun control activists and citizens shaken by last week’s school shootings are celebrating Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent veto of legislation that would have allowed concealed weapons into schools and other public places.

But it might not be the victory they were expecting.

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Yesterday, Snyder vetoed a proposed law “that would have allowed gun owners with additional training to carry concealed weapons in schools” and other public places such as churches, sports stadiums, day care centers, bars and hospitals, reports DailyTribune.com.

But House Speaker Jase Bolger pointed out that Michigan law still allows people to openly carry guns in public areas, DailyTribune.com reports.

“With this veto, however, open-carry still exists in schools, churches and other public areas, and we know that criminals do not respect gun-free zones,” Bolger said, according to the news site. “For these reasons, we will continue to work with the governor to best protect our law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights, as well as the safety and security of all of our citizens.”

In his veto message, Snyder said his original hope for the (now-vetoed) legislation “was to reach a compromise by prohibiting the ‘open carry’ of pistols in the  … pistol-free zones in exchange for lifting the prohibition on the carrying of concealed weapons in those zones – subject to the approval of the public- or private-property owners.”

But the legislation didn’t contain an opt-out provision for public schools, public day care centers or public hospitals, which led to the governor issuing his seventh veto, notes DailyTribune.com.

In other words, guns are still legally allowed at Michigan schools – it’s just that they must be carried openly instead of being concealed.

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That’s hardly the victory for which anti-gun advocates were hoping. (NPR.org reports the governor’s office had been “flooded with more than 6,000 phone calls, emails and Web messages on the subject,” with the messages running five-to-one in favor of the veto.)

Bolger called the veto “unfortunate,” and said it does nothing to “make Michigan citizens safer in ‘gun-free zones.’ Neither the governor’s approval nor his veto will stop evil from preying on innocent people.”