ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced article. It is an editorial by the editor.
There ’s a saying that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” attributed to Oscar Wilde, and two state legislators in Allegan County seem to be doing their best to imitate notorious congresspersons Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Bobert.
State Reps. Rachelle Smit (R-Shelbyville) and Angela Riggs (R-Caledonia) have signed on to co-sponsor State Rep. Brian Begole’s bill to designate the AR-15 as the official state firearm.
My first reaction is state lawmakers have much more serious business to attend to rather than pay tribute to a device that has the sole purpose of killing people.
My second reaction is that this is norhing short of a slap in the face to victims of mass shootings, such as the parents of victims at Oxford High School and Michigan State University.
I hereby urge these two local lawmakers to find better things to do in Lansing that are more meaningful and helpful for their constituents.
Rigas is listed as a state representative from Caledonia, but all of Leighton Township is in her 79th district. Smit was longtime Martin Township Clerk before she sought and won her seat in the 43rd District. Both were first elected in November 2022 in redrawn districts.
I met Rigas once at a Leighton Township Board meeting and she was very nice. The same is true for all the time I’ve known Ms. Smit. But politicians always are nice and pleasant when glad-handing at public meetings.
This isn’t Smit’s first time taking the wrong side of a controversy. It was a little more than a year ago that she took it upon herself to present the Null brothers, William and Michael, with appreciative plaques for being acquitted of charges in the infamous plot to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Should we present the late O.J. Simpson with a plaque because he was acquitted?
Both brothers publicly acknowledged that they took part in drills and visited Whitmer’s summer cottage property, but their defense was that they backed out of the scheme when they learned that explosives would be involved. William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor were found not guilty of providing support for a terrorist act and a weapon charge. They did not deny their involvement in the plot at its beginning.
Nonetheless, Rep. Smit, in a ceremony she led in Allegan after the trial concluded, said, “We’re here to recognize Bill and Mike Null for their unfortunate involvement in this scandal, if you will, and that’s what I’m going to call it. If you would just accept these tributes on behalf of the state of Michigan and our office as your representative in the 43rd District.”
The governor’s press secretary rightfully called the tribute “disturbing.”
“This goes beyond the pale,” press secretary Stacey LaRouche wrote. “These types of actions normalize and incite violence against our political figures, and only serve to shake our faith in our values and our institutions. This tribute will further encourage and embolden radical extremists trying to sow discord and harm public officials or law enforcement.”
Her tribute honored the Nulls for their “courage, unflagging spirt and dedication to our state and the founding principles of our beloved nation.” It thanked them for “keeping alive our cherished liberties.”
The men could have “given up” in the face of a government that betrayed them and “secret police forces” that concocted the kidnapping plot for political gain, but, at great personal risk, each of the brothers “stood his ground, met his government inquisitors in court, and soundly defeated them,” the tribute continued.
William Null, of Shelbyville, admitted he should have contacted police when talk turned to obtaining explosives.
“It seemed to be getting serious,” he told jurors in a Antrim County courtroom in September 2023 “I don’t know if they were ever going to go through with it, but it was enough for me to not want to be involved.”
So there is no dispute that the Nulls participated in militia-style training with dozens of people in September 2020 and then joined a small group that drove 75 miles that same weekend to surveil Whitmer’s lakeside vacation home.
William Null was even accused of making a joke about killing the governor.
He acknowledged in testimony that he started his own militia in 2015, partly to protect people who wanted to rally in favor of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. He said he also attended protests against COVID-19 restrictions, typically wearing body armor and bearing guns.
Now comes word that Smit and Riggs are co-sposoring legislation to officially recognize the AR-15 as the state gun.
At worst, this is an alarming disregard of the rule of law and at best it’s a waste of time because such a frivolous bill won’t pass in the State House and Senate and most certainly will be vetoed by the governor.