According the the report below, the MSU shooter had a prior weapons conviction:
Michigan State University gunman had felony weapon charge dropped in 2019
Even though he was not convicted of a felony (due to “racial inequity”; see the report), the report alleges that he was convicted of a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of two years. But federal rules prohibit someone from possessing firearms if they have been:
convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year [1]
Note that it does not matter whether or not they were sentenced to more than one year, but only if the crime was punishable by a term exceeding one year.
So two questions arise:
1) How did he purchase the firearm. if purchased after his conviciton?
2) If the firearm was purchased prior to his firearms conviction, then why did the state not investigate and seize his remaining firearms based on his criminal conviction?
This shooting event was NOT a failure of gun laws – it was a failure of the state to properly enforce existing law. More gun laws will not help, particularly when existing gun laws work if properly enforced.
[1] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “Identify Prohibited Persons.” Accessed February 14, 2023. https://www.atf.gov/firearms/identify-prohibited-persons.