Bills would eliminate concealed-carry regulations

By LAURA BOHANNON
Capital News Service
LANSING — Some lawmakers are working to remove the licensing requirement for concealed pistol carriers. Rep. Triston Cole, R-Mancelona, has introduced bills to eliminate concealed pistol license, or CPL, laws. Cole said he doesn’t want to make it easier to obtain a gun or loosen those regulations, but he wants to ensure that “law-abiding citizens” don’t need to jump through hoops to carry a concealed pistol for self-defense. “The idea is to promote constitutional freedom,” Cole said. Cole also argues that current law can create “inadvertent criminals.”
“I have a CPL, my wife does not.

Bill seeks to reduce penalty of expired concealed pistol license

By LAURA BOHANNON
Capital News Service
LANSING — People with concealed pistols could avoid felony charges for expired licenses under a bill introduced by Rep. Shane Hernandez, R-Port Huron. Under current law, anyone with an expired concealed pistol license who still carries his or her concealed weapon could be charged with a felony, even if it’s only been a few days since the license expired, Hernandez said. Hernandez said he was inspired to introduce the bill after hearing about a staffer’s friend who faced such a charge because of a recently expired icense during a routine traffic stop. The bill would reduce that felony to a civil misdemeanor with a $330 fine if someone’s license has been expired for six months or less. Hernandez also said offenders could get out of paying the fine if they’re able to prove they renewed their license within 60 days of the violation.

Bills would allow concealed guns without permits

By JASON KRAFT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan residents could carry concealed handguns without a permit under a recently proposed package of four bills. After previously failed attempts to pass similar legislation, the lawmakers “started from scratch and proposed what we believe is the best language,” said co-sponsor Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Larkin Township. More so now than any time in recent history, people face a threat to personal and public safety, Glenn said. “The more law-abiding citizens who are armed and able to defend themselves and those around them, the better,” Glenn said. Others disagree.

Gun sales booming as regulations increase

By JOSHUA BENDER
Capital News Service
LANSING – Statewide some retailers see a substantial spike in sales of guns and ammo resulting from recent executive orders handed down by the Obama Administration. The orders primarily affect online gun sellers and people conducting sales at gun shows, further regulating these sales and attempting to limit firearms sold without a background check of the purchaser, according to a White House press release. “We have seen an uptick in gun sales, we are running into shortages at the distributor level for product,” said Brian Harrison, manager of Leitz Sports Center in Sault Ste. Marie. “Typically we wouldn’t be as busy this time of year as we are.