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ATLANTA, MI- There are no guns to be seen in the county seat this day. And that is the point.

Montmorency County is among Michigan's hot beds for concealed handguns. One in 11 adults are licensed to carry. That compares to one in 30 in Kent County.

Inside Coach's Corner Bar & Grill, the curved bar is backed by two harried tenders. Outside, two wall posters welcome both Lions Fans and Atlanta visitors. The first advertises Bud Light, the second Miller Lite. A line of bar seats are nearly full at 5 p.m. on a weekday. Tables are more available.

Two men play pool. They are between games. One player says he knows no one there who has a concealed permit, of the five or six people there he knows.

"I would not steer you away," he says.

His pool partner returns. Asked the same question, the 65-year-old transplanted downstater says nothing at first, but opens his wallet.

There is his concealed license.

There are many reasons to own a permit. Self-defense. Easier transport in a vehicle for hunters, or as a secondary weapon in the woods. There is a firm belief it is a constitutional right.

But that right, easier in Michigan for the past 13 years, is exercised unequally, an MLive analysis found.

Adults in some counties are enthusiastic, in others, less so. But new permits are climbing dramatically, from 78,721 in the year before President Obama was reelected to 118,025 afterward, a 50 percent increase. There are a total of almost 570,000 active permits in the state.

As it has been said, "All politics is local." Michigan stores sold out of bullets, and handguns, each year after President Obama was elected. There was concern he would restrict firearms rights.

At Roy and Sons New and Used Firearms in Atlanta, a sign on the door says "Trust Me," in red letters. "Nothing inside's worth dying for."

Managing son Steven Roy believes one in two customers he knows have concealed permits. A gunsmith who prefers to be called Old Man Louis is nearby. Another customer, who prefers not to be named, said he and at least four of six co-workers have concealed permits.

A ledger shows page after page of gun purchasers, some 700 in a year. Windows are adorned with outdoors shooting photos. A picture of a guide in Alberta, Canada, features an enormous wolf he has killed. Walls are hung with handgun accessories, including Blackhawk concealed holsters and others.

Several private, loaded handguns are below a counter. Steven Roy, 21, sometimes carries two. Why?

"Because it is my right," he says immediately.

In the glass display counter, there is a pink SCCY 9 mm.There also is a Ruger Blackhawk .41 Magnum. The store also stocks Mossburg 500 shotguns with a short grip.

The right to bear firearms is not as enthusiastically embraced everywhere.

You must be 21 to apply for a concealed permit in Michigan. Montmorency, with 7,700 adults, has issued 718 active permits through October, one for each 11 adults.

Neighboring Alcona County is about the same. Keweenaw County, with a much smaller population in the northernmost reaches of the state's Upper Peninsula, has the most per adult, one in eight.

Contrasts are stark. Kent County is the fourth-most populous in the state, but last in permits per adults, one in 30. Ingham, Washtenaw, and Kalamazoo counties are also near the bottom.

Statewide, one in 16 adults have a permit, MLive's analysis of state police reports and U.S. Census estimates show.

MLive's findings show you or a neighbor or a co-worker or church-goer are much more - or less likely - to carry a concealed and loaded pistol.

Northern counties are highest; generally, southern urban counties tend to be lower per capita, but with many more adults carrying concealed guns.

At Roy and Sons - actually one son at the moment - none of that is of interest on this afternoon, clouds leaking mist.

They just want to arm people.

-- Email statewide projects coordinator John Barnes at jbarnes1@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.