(Lansing-MPRN) Concealed weapons bills similar to ones Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed last month are one step closer to heading back to his desk. The state House approved legislation on Tuesday that would overhaul the way Michigan approves concealed pistol licenses.
The bills would abolish county gun boards which approve the licenses. Those duties would go to county clerks with the State Police conducting background checks. The legislation passed the House easily with bipartisan support.
Supporters say it would make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to obtain a concealed pistol license.
“Simple consistency. It’s almost like a word called common sense,”
said state Rep. KlintKesto (R-Commerce Twp.), who chairs the state House Judiciary Committee. Many Democrats and some rural Republicans still oppose Senate Bills 34 and 35. They say local officials should be able to use their knowledge of who in their community is fit to carry a gun.
“The way that we attempt to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill is that we simply ask them on the application, ‘Are you mentally ill?’ And that’s not a very strong check on that particular public policy goal that this legislature set up,”
said state Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor). But supporters like Kesto say local gun boards sometimes use their discretionary power to discriminate against applicants.
“We don’t have psychologists on this board to determine whether or not this person is capable of carrying a firearm,” said Kesto. “But what (opponents of the bills) want is just individuals to say, ‘You know what, he doesn’t look right to have a gun.”
Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed similar legislation last month. But the bills no longer contain language he said could have put domestic abuse victims in danger.
The House also approved legislation that would allow certain active and former corrections, parole, and probation officers to carry concealed weapons in “no-carry” zones such as schools, hospitals, and taverns. The bills now go to the state Senate.
