MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Whether or not firearms should or should not be restricted has consistently been a topic of conversation. And currently, local municipalities are prohibited from restricting the ownership, registration, transfer, purchase, sale, transportation and possession of firearms.

Due to a piece of legislation that has recently come about, local municipalities may be in for a rude awakening.

"Well assuming that the townships were to have local regulations on firearms that were in conflict with state law, it could mean that individuals that have an issue with that could take them to the local district courts to essentially have the court order that the township remove the law from its ordinances and could potentially penalize the board members for allowing it to remain on the books," mentioned Meridian Township's Prosecuting Attorney Cullen Harkness.

This bill indicates that if local officials are found guilty of violating state law, the restriction on firearms would be stopped and forced to be amended or repealed.

"That is totally wrong, it's totally unconstitutional and it's totally unfair. This bill HB 4795 is a very bad piece of legislation...it's another in a long series of bad bills that are coming out of the legislature now and on a regular basis," Meridian Township Clerk Brett Dreyfus stated.

Not only that, but if found guilty officials may be fined up to $5,000 prohibiting the use of public funds to defend themselves.

"It's really ludicrous because it's based on the main premise...would we violate state law? No we would not. It sounds more like to me a legislator looking at a micro problem and trying to solve it in a macro fashion," Meridian Township Board Trustee Milton L. Scales said.

"I really wish they would be focused more on those real world problems rather than working for some special interest like the gun lobby," Treasurer Julie Brixie stated.

Harkness also mentioned that state law always supersedes local ordinances.

"My overall opinion is that I think it's moot because as I said state law trumps local ordinances so I don't really know what they're trying to accomplish other than to perhaps penalize municipalities for having obsolete laws on their books," said Harkness.

Currently, this bill is at a stand still but if passed it would go into effect within 90 days after its enactment.