Before Michigan joined a growing number of “shall issue” states on July 1, 2001, making it easier for residents to get concealed pistol permits, opponents feared and argued it would lead to an increase in gunplay, violence and death.
It hasn’t.
“Even legislators who voted against it have told me they were wrong,” said Sen. Mike Green, who, as a state representative, sponsored the “shall issue” law that lawmakers approved in 2000. “There have not been shootouts in the streets.”
The number of firearm homicides in Michigan dropped from an annual average of 629 in the decade before the law was changed to an average of 493 per year in the decade after, state Department of Community Health records show. That’s a drop of 22 percent. The average number of firearm suicides also declined slightly from 586 per year in the decade before the law was changed to 566 per year in the decade after.
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