Guns at the State Capitol, Lead in DPS Water, and Other News of the Week

Jake Neher, WDET

Political consultant Greg Bowens joins Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson for a look at the week in news.

Here are a few highlights from their conversation:

• 2nd Amendment Day: This week at the state Capitol, open-carry advocates got together for an annual plea to lawmakers to honor the 2nd Amendment’s right to bear arms. The day is often used as an occasion to show the juxtaposition between the right to bring guns into the state Capitol, alongside a rule that prohibits signs with words on them. Bowens says he doesn’t think lawmakers would be so keen on 2nd Amendment Day if the group were not a majority of white men. “Particularly if a bunch of Arab Americans showed up with guns, it would be the end of Second Amendment Day,” he says.
• DPS Lead: High lead levels were reported this week from some Detroit Public Schools drinking fountains. “It didn’t surprise me that they found lead,” says Bowens. “What surprised me was it took so long to test for it.” Bowens also says Governor Rick Snyder is not a touchy-feely kind of governor, and that has been a problem for him and his public image during the Flint water crisis.