Gun vote moves Michigan closer to scrapping training, permit rules

Paul Egan | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Concealed carry bills move forward A Michigan House panel on Tuesday repealed permit and safety training requirements to carry a concealed pistol.

LANSING — A House panel today approved a controversial package of bills that would allow Michigan residents to carry concealed weapons without obtaining permits or receiving training.

The four bills passed in 6-4 votes. They now move to the full House and would require Senate approval and Gov. Rick Snyder's signature to become law.

A large part of the rationale for repealing the permit and safety-training requirement is that under current Michigan law, law-abiding citizens can carry a firearm openly without a permit, fees or a training requirement. Proponents of the change called the permit requirement a money grab that essentially taxed people for putting jackets over their guns.

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Linda Brundage, executive director of the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, said if the bills become law, they will result in more guns in more places, carried by more people without firearms training.

"We will be lobbying hard against it," Brundage said.

The House Judiciary Committee approved an amendment that would require someone carrying a concealed weapon, if stopped by police, to inform the officer, upon request. Lawmakers rejected several other amendments, including one to make firearms training mandatory.

Jason Gillman, deputy legislative director for Michigan Open Carry, said his group supports training, but no permit or training is required to carry a firearm openly, so there should be no such requirement for putting a coat on one.

"Carry in the style that is most comfortable to you," he said.

Current law requires people to get a concealed-pistol license from the state — at a cost of about $100 — and take eight hours of gun safety training.

The bills that received committee approval Tuesday, House Bills 4416 to 4419, would:

• Allow anyone to carry a concealed pistol without having to get a permit or training, except for people who are prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm because of certain criminal convictions.

• Remove carrying a firearm — whether concealed or not — from laws that prohibit carrying dangerous weapons.

• Repeal a provision that allows security guards to only carry a concealed weapon when they’re on duty.

About a dozen states have similar laws.

When the bills came up for testimony at two earlier hearings, rooms filled to overflow with people on both sides of the issue, including a large contingent from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which advocates for more gun control.

The crowd was smaller for today's hearing.

Scott Nichols, a member of Moms Demand Action and a former Michigan State Police trooper, said at the first hearing that the bills are dangerous and would allow people such as stalkers to carry concealed weapons.

“By no means am I anti-gun. I’ve been around guns all my life,” Nichols said “You’re opening the door for certain convicted criminals to carry concealed weapons. This bill does nothing to increase the safety of Michiganders, but makes the jobs of law enforcement harder.”

But Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, the committee chairman, said, "It is a constitutional right to bear arms," and states that don't require training have actually seen an uptick in gun owners attending classes, as "the need for training for those who view that need continues."

The Legislature has struggled to find consensus on gun measures since Snyder vetoed a bill in 2012 that would have allowed concealed weapons to be carried in gun-free zones. Snyder vetoed the bill in the days following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in which Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 students and six staff members before killing himself on Dec. 14, 2012.

Voting yes on the bills were: Runestad; Lana Theis, R-Brighton; Martin Howrylak, R-Troy; Triston Cole, R-Mancelona; Pamela Hornberger, R-Chesterfield Township, and Beau Matthew LaFave, R-Iron Mountain.

Voting no were Reps. Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, Rose Mary Robinson, D-Detroit; Vanessa Guerra, D-Saginaw, and William Sowerby, D-Clinton Township.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.