Michigan Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once proposed replacing the Second Amendment’s firearm protections with a constitutional right to healthcare. In Lansing, Michigan, a governor-appointed task force has recommended firearm and magazine bans, purchase restrictions and additional licensing for firearm retailers. Michigan’s Nov. 3 elections will determine who gets to advance — or challenge — those extreme antigun agendas.
The consequences reach far beyond simple campaign rhetoric. They concern which firearms law-abiding adults can purchase, whether future restrictions could reach property already owned and who will confirm the judges tasked with protecting constitutional rights.
In the case of the U.S. Senate nominee, the very existence of the Second Amendment is at stake.
A Constitutional Right Is Not a Bargaining Chip
In an April 2023 video, Democrat nominee El-Sayed proposed amending the U.S. Constitution so that “instead of the right to bear arms, we change it to the right to have healthcare.” The Reload reviewed the transcript and obtained his campaign’s so-called response: He respects the Second Amendment. The campaign did not directly answer whether he still supported replacing it.
In a separate recent video from the campaign trail, El-Sayed portrayed the Second Amendment as protecting state militias and muskets rather than individual firearm possession.
Abdul El-Sayed on the Second Amendment:
“When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets. So, yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket.” https://t.co/Fu1EOJmrH2
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) October 20, 2026
“When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets,” El-Sayed told a crowd of applauding supporters. “So, yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket.”
Wrong. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that interpretation in District of Columbia v. Heller, recognizing an individual right unconnected with militia service, including armed self-defense in the home.
Repealing that protection requires the constitutional amendment process, including ratification by 38 states. A victory on Election Day would not give El-Sayed that power. But it would give him votes on firearm legislation and judicial confirmations.
Running against El-Sayed is former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who has a long pro-Second Amendment legislative track record voters can examine. He voted for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005 and national concealed carry reciprocity legislation in 2011. The former representative left the House in 2015.
As NSSF has reported, El-Sayed is a full-fledged member of the Democratic Socialists of America and also supports changing U.S. Supreme Court tenure and imposing term limits. His current platform advocates for ending lifetime appointments and abolishing the Senate filibuster, too. Removing the usual 60-vote threshold for ending legislative debate would make contested gun control legislation easier to advance through the Senate.
Lansing’s Balance Could Change
On the state level, Republicans hold Michigan’s House 58–52, while Democrats control the Senate 20–18. All 148 legislative seats are on the ballot, alongside with the governorship. A four-seat net gain would give Democrats the House; a two-seat net gain would give Republicans the Senate. Those narrow margins determine whether either party can control both chambers and the agenda.
The policy stakes are documented. Michigan’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s direction recommended prohibiting the sale, possession, manufacture or transfer of so-called “assault weapons,” banning possession of “large capacity” magazines, raising the firearm purchase age to 21 and requiring waiting periods for all firearm purchases.
A possession ban could affect existing owners, depending on statutory definitions and grandfathering. The report establishes no surrender requirement or penalty. Waiting periods would delay purchases even after background-check approval; an age restriction could deny otherwise eligible young adults’ access to affected firearms. Proposed state retailer licensing, recordkeeping and inspections would add compliance obligations for businesses serving those customers.
These recommendations are not enacted prohibitions. But Democrat Gov. Whitmer reestablished the task force in June to advance implementation strategies. The next governor and legislature will inherit that agenda.
In the governor’s race, Democrat nominee Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson highlights endorsements from GIFFORDS PAC, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action. Meanwhile, Republican nominee U.S. Rep. John James (R-Mich.) has committed to signing permitless concealed carry legislation into law, according to the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners’ political action committee.
Protect the Right Before the Next Vote
Gun control organizations understand the high stakes in Michigan. NSSF documented GIFFORDS’ initial $1 million campaign against former Rep. Rogers. Lawful firearm owners should bring equal seriousness to evaluating the entire ballot.
Visit GUNVOTE.org to check registration and research candidates. Michigan’s statewide early voting period runs through Nov. 1; Election Day is Nov. 3. Eligible residents can still register in person through Election Day.
The people elected now will cast the next votes on firearm restrictions and judicial confirmations. Protecting the Second Amendment starts with deciding who gets those votes. Don’t Risk Your Rights. #GUNVOTE!
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
“When they promised the right to bear arms, they had muskets,’ El-Sayed told a crowd of applauding supporters. ‘So, yeah, everyone should have equal rights to a musket.”
“Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment . We do not interpret constitutional rights that way. Just as the First Amendment protects modern forms of communications, e.g., Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U. S. 844, 849 (1997) , and the Fourth Amendment applies to modern forms of search, e.g., Kyllo v. United States, 533 U. S. 27, 35–36 (2001) , the Second Amendment extends, prima facie,to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.
— SCOTUS Justice Antonin Scalia in (writing SCOTUS decision opinion for) ‘DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., PETITIONERS v. DICK ANTHONY HELLER’ (AKA ‘Heller decision’) June 26, 2008”
“As NSSF has reported, El-Sayed is a full-fledged member of the Democratic Socialists of America and also supports changing U.S. Supreme Court tenure and imposing term limits.” [note: ‘Democratic Socialists of America’ = DSA]
The DSA Plans To Incite Nationwide Violence Ahead Of 2028 Election
ht* tps://thefederalist.com/2026/10/23/the-dsa-plans-to-incite-nationwide-violence-ahead-of-2028-election/
‘A COUP’: DataRepublican Shares DAMNING Internal DSA Transcripts Revealing Plans After 2026 Midterms
ht* tps://twitchy.com/samj/2026/10/19/datarepublican-dsa-plans-leaked-n2433462
So yeah, El-Sayed thinks we should only have muskets while his DSA commie comrades subjugate and kill us with modern weapons. Gee where have we seen this playbook before? Oh yeah, through all of history when a tyrannical group over threw a country with violence – disarm the populace and then subjugate and kill the populace.