by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Even before the echoes of the “aye” votes on Dec. 13 had faded away in the capitol dome at Lansing, MI, following passage of a sweeping concealed carry reform package, anti-gunners in the Great Lakes State were vowing to overturn the measure by public vote.
By an overwhelming majority, the Michigan legislature passed the reform measure. It is the first time in four years that any state has passed a so-called right-to-carry law, making Michigan the 32nd state with such a law.
Gov. John Engler promised to sign it, according to The Detroit Free Press.
The day after passage of the carry bill, the state Senate fell one vote shy of passing a dove hunting bill, another measure that was high on the wish list of hunters and many gunowners.
Passage of the uniform statewide licensed carry bill enraged anti-gunners, who had initially said they would fight the new law through a public referendum. However, that plan hit a legal snag when the bill’s backers amended it to include a $1 million appropriation that will fund implementation of the new requirements. Opponents included Attorney General Jennifer Granholm, incoming Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan, the Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Michigan Medical Society, and the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
Michigan law prohibits appropriations from being delayed by referendum. Taking a lesson from the recently unsuccessful Gore campaign playbook, CCW reform opponents may also attack the law in a court action, according to a report in the Free Press.
Backers of the legislation have long said that the law unnecessarily restricts ordinary citizens’ constitutional right to bear arms. They also say that liberalized CCW laws reduce crime because criminals are less likely to victimize someone who may be armed.
Opponents accused the legislators of cowardice for taking the measure up during a lame duck session after the November election and said they will seek a public vote to overturn it.
Even US Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) was unable to derail the legislation, although he wrote a letter to Engler, urging him to veto the bill.
Gun Week obtained a copy of Levin’s letter, in which he wrote, “Law enforcement officers, who undergo an initial 72 hours of firearms training as well as annual re-training, have warned that allowing thousands more private citizens to carry concealed handguns would pose significant threats to public safety…”
“I am also concerned that an increase in concealed weapons licenses will effectively expand an exception in the Brady background check system,” Levin added.
Curiously, some opposition came from gunowners in counties where concealed carry licenses are already issued under liberal guidelines.
State Rep. Mike Green (R-Mayville), the bill’s prime sponsor, acknowledged that this reform package will be “a step back” in those counties. Statewide, however, the bill takes away the discretion of county gun licensing boards which have too often proven to be arbitrary and capricious. Under the new legislation, permits must be issued to those who meet minimum standards and have not been convicted of crimes or involuntarily committed for the treatment of mental illness.
Under the reform package, the age for issuing concealed carry licenses will be raised from 18 to 21 years. Other tenets of the bill include:
“We expect to remedy that in the future,” Green said about the restrictions. “Every state that has passed these measures has later come back (and eased restrictions).”
For example, Texas passed a similar measure about six years ago and it was signed by then newly-elected Gov. George W. Bush. Two years later, that law was amended to ease restrictions.
However, the first hurdle may be to make sure the bill, after it becomes law, is able to survive the threatened court challenge. Green expects opponents to head to federal court and challenge the law on constitutional grounds.
Green recalled the moments following the bill’s passage by a 62-39 vote in the House and a 23-13 vote in the Senate when he came face-to-face with opponents of the measure: “They looked at us with smoke coming out of their eyes and vowed that they will fight this forever.”
As an afterthought, Green added, “If they get the right federal judge” opponents just might get an injunction. However, he suggested that any such ruling would likely be overturned on appeal. In the interim, CCW reform in Michigan would be stalled.
If the new law is challenged in court, Green said, “It’s going to be interesting to see what our attorney general does, defending a case like that, because she’s against the legislation.” State laws challenged in court must be defended by the attorney general’s office.
“I’m confident that it will be signed into law,” Green said of the reform bill, “and I’m confident that if it has an opportunity to play out, it will prove itself, because this is a good bill for the state.”
The dove hunting bill sponsored by state Rep. Susan Tabor (R-Grand Ledge), who also voted for the carry reform, had passed the state House of Representatives a couple of weeks before it came up in the state Senate on Dec. 14. Passage seemed almost assured, but when the Senate votes were counted—19 Yeas, 15 Nays and 4 absent—the bill failed by one vote. Twenty affirmative votes are needed for passage in the Michigan Senate.
Sen. Walter North (R-Saint Ignace) said that he voted against it because his constituent mail and phone calls had been running five to one against dove hunting. Other sources in Michigan also noted that the letters to the editor and constituent comment was running heavily against the dove hunting proposal, while it had been more evenly divided on the CCW reform bill.