A decade of reality disproves Anti-guner philosophy

10 years after concealed weapons law, unclear why many in state were gun-shy
BY DAWSON BELL AND GINA DAMRON

Ten years after Michigan made it much easier for its citizens to get a license to carry a concealed gun, predictions of widespread lawless behavior and bloodshed have failed to materialize.

Today, nearly 276,000 -- or about four out of every 100 eligible adult Michiganders -- are licensed.

That's more than twice the number predicted when the debate raged over whether Michigan should join the growing ranks of so-called "shall issue" states.

Before July 1, 2001, applicants had to prove why they needed to carry a gun for protection. Since then, any nominally sane adult without a felony record qualifies.

During the debate, opponents of the change warned of gun-toting, trigger-happy citizens loose on the streets.

But violent crimes have been rare among carrying a concealed weapon license holders.

The opponents gnashed teeth about an impending bloodbath. What happened? By nearly all accounts, not much.

The number of citizens issued Concealed Pistol Licenses has soared. In 2001 when the law took effect, about 52,000 people were authorized to carry concealed weapons in Michigan (in most counties, permits were limited to retired police officers and those deemed by authorities to have a need, such as cash couriers).

Since then, the number has grown to nearly 276,000. But the effects on Michigan's civil society appear to have been far less dramatic.

"My position was, and still is, is that the people we have a problem with with guns aren't the people who are willing to follow the law and go through the hoops and training," - Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon said he had been opposed to the law and was concerned about flooding the streets with guns. But, he said, "it has turned out not as bad as I suspected that it would."

Napoleon said he would like to see expanded training for people seeking concealed weapons permits.

Advocates for concealed carry rights contend they have been vindicated. Violent crime is down, said Steve Dulan, a board member for the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.

CCW holders, in the aggregate, have been shown to be more law-abiding than the broader public, he said.

"The debate is pretty much over, and we won," Dulan said.

Ionia County Prosecutor Ronald Schafer said the raging debate that preceded enactment of the new CCW law appears, in retrospect, to have been a little overwrought.

"We were all a little too caught up imagining what might happen," he said.

http://www.freep.com/article/20110731/NEWS06/107310482/Part-1-10-years-after-concealed-weapons-law-unclear-why-many-state-were-gun-shy