It's off to the state Senate now for a proposal protecting the rights of gun owners in Michigan.

Legislation approved by the state House would protect confidential records
Legislation approved by the state House would protect confidential records
loading...

That's after the House passed the legislation Thursday on a vote of 81 to 28.

At issue is whether the status of gun records should be kept confidential.  The Lansing State Journal is reporting today that the bills would codify a Supreme Court decision in Michigan back in the 1990's that found the disclosure of gun registry records to be "a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy."

It would exempt the records from Freedom of Information requests by beefing up security of the information under the Michigan Handgun Act.

The report indicates the legislation was proposed after a New York newspaper published names and addresses of gun owners in December, 2012.  The move came after the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in which dozens of children were gunned down in a random act of violence..

Those who fought release of the records say they never imaged FOIA requests could be used as a legal tool to reveal personal details of registered and lawful gun owners.

More From 1240 WJIM AM