From the WDIV Newswire
Weapons Law Will Most Likely Start Sunday
Supreme Court Expected To OK Softer Restrictions
LANSING, Mich., 3:39 p.m. EDT June 29, 2001-- It looks like beginning Sunday more Michiganians will be carrying concealed weapons.
The Michigan Supreme Court is expected to let pass the new law that would loosen restrictions on concealed weapons permits.
WWJ Radio is reporting that the Supreme Court will vote 4-3 that the new law isn't subject to petition, therefore letting the law go into effect on Sunday.
The law would direct county gun boards to issue concealed weapon permits as long as applicants are at least 21. But applicants between 18 and 21 would be able to receive a permit if they carry a firearm for their job.
The bill was tied to an appropriations measure which prevented the public from compiling enough signatures to shelve the law until the 2002 election when voters would be able to cast ballots on a referendum about whether the law should go into effect. The new law will contain a $1 million appropriation to be spent on enforcing it. This makes the law a budget bill and budget bills cannot be put to a referendum under state law.
Individuals with a history of mental illness or those convicted of a felony could not receive a concealed weapons permit.
Currently, the burden is on applicants to show their need to carry a concealed gun and county gun boards are given broader discretion.
County gun boards issued 18,220 concealed weapons permits in 1998, with each good for up to three years, according to the Michigan State Police. If the new law is passed, the new standards are expected to raise that number.
Concealed firearms will be banned from hospitals, casinos, college campuses, day-care center, schools, bars, churches, stadiums and sports arenas.