It was going to be a bloodbath. Disputes at soccer games were going to turn into shootouts. Michigan was going to turn into the Wild West — or worse.
Those were some of the more draconian claims made 10 years ago when state lawmakers in a lame-duck session slipped through a law that made it easier for Michigan residents to legally carry a concealed weapon.
The law did make getting a license easier. Before the law was passed, about 52,000 Michigan residents were authorized to carry concealed weapons. Since the law's passage, that number has mushroomed to more than 275,000.
Yet, as recounted in a recent Detroit Free Press story, there has been no appreciable impact on crime in this state. There certainly has not been an upsurge in gun violence traced to the increase of concealed-weapons permits.
In retrospect, that shouldn't have been a surprise. Many states already had more liberal concealed weapons laws than did Michigan — and they weren't experiencing the type of gun violence that worried the law's opponents, including many of the state's county prosecutors and police officials.
"We were all a little too caught up imaging what might happen," Ionia County Prosecutor Ronald Schafer told the Free Press.
Proponents of the more liberal law argued that the old method of granting concealed-weapons permits was tilted in favor of those who had connections with the county gun boards. Indeed, permits did seem to be limited to retired police officers and those who could demonstrate a need, such as businesspeople who carried cash.
Not only did the system encourage favoritism, but proponents of change said it also ran afoul of a state constitution that, they said, clearly indicates that carrying a weapon is a right, not a privilege to be granted.
That's pretty much how the law now works. To get concealed-weapons permit, an applicant basically must be 21 or older, be a citizen of Michigan for six months, successfully complete a handgun safety course, not have a recorded history of mental illness, not have a felony conviction in the last eight years and not have a dishonorable charge from the military.
Once someone has a permit, there are some limits. Even with a license, a person can't carry a concealed weapon in schools, day-care centers, sports arenas or stadiums, taverns, places of worship, hospitals, college living quarters or casinos.
Some have argued that the increase in concealed-weapon permits would actually create safer communities. Such positions are sometimes rooted in the belief that "an armed society is a polite society." Or, some would argue that armed law-abiding citizens are a defense against shooting rampages such as the recent outrage in Norway.
Such a position is debatable. What's not up for argument is that there have been no negative consequences now that 220,000 more state residents have the right to carry a concealed weapon.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard has a rational reason for that. He says that the people likely to cause trouble aren't the type of people who willingly go through the legal requirements to get a permit.
"My position was, and still is, that the people we have a problem with guns aren't the people who are willing to follow the law and go through the hoops and training," he told the Free Press.
That's a good point. Not everyone likes guns. Those folks have the right not to own one. Nor should their safety be jeopardized by others. But the evidence is so far clear that whatever risk there is from guns, it's not coming from the law-abiding people who have obtained concealed-weapons permits.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20110804/OPINION01/108040312/Law-abiding-gun-owners-no-source-fear
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