Michigan House Passes Constitutional Carry

The Michigan House passed four bills on Wednesday, June 7th, that effectively would reform Michgan gun law to make Constitutional Carry legal in the state.
People who where not prohibited from owning firearms would be able to carry weapons concealed without special government permission. From mlive.com:

LANSING, MI -- Michiganders would no longer need a concealed pistol license to carry a concealed pistol under legislation approved by the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday.

House bills 4416 through 4419 strike the requirement that a Michigander have a license to carry a concealed weapons. People banned from possessing firearms would be banned from carrying them as well. The bills also reduce penalties for certain infractions relating to carrying a pistol without proper identification or disclosure as well.

 Michigan isn't the only state where Constitutional Carry bills are moving.

Both North Carolina and Wisconsin have bills that are contenders.  The Constitutional Carry movement has been picking up the pace in the last decade.  The Billionaires that fund the anti-Second Amendment movement only have so much money, so much time.

When you relied on paid professionals to testify, and have only 5% of the numbers in the grass roots that your opponent has, you have to rely on sheer money power.  From a Grass Roots North Carolina email alert about the omnibus gun law reform bill that includes Constituitonal Carry:

Big-buck, Anti-gun Lobbyists Descend on Raleigh

While grass roots gun owners like you are busy making a living, paid lobbyists hired by a New York billionaire, pushing for New York-style gun control, are working behind the scenes in our legislature. It's true, we now know that anti-gun astroturf groups, funded by Michael Bloomberg, employ lobbyists in our state capital. We can only guess what these lobbyists are whispering in the ears of our Representatives, but we can be sure Bloomberg's minions are not pushing to advance your rights.

In a perfect world, it would never be the case, but in the world we live in, well-funded anti-gun lobbyists may be enough to make some Representatives go weak-kneed on gun rights. For this reason, now more than ever, we need to remind our representatives who the actual voters are, and remind them that we're not kidding.

 Money can doe a lot. But when you are up against strong grass roots opponents in several states at once, those resources can be stretched thin.  Even big money has a hard time with weak arguments.  Here is the latest one from Michigan, from  mlive.com, Rep Jewell Jones, D-Inkster:

"What about the young black and brown men, men like me, who are killed every day?" he asked.

Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, said he found that comment ironic because historically gun laws were established to keep black and brown people from owning guns. And he was among a handful of supporters who made the argument that Michiganders can already open carry guns with no training or permit.

I wonder if Rep Runestad asked any of the young black and brown men in his district if they thought it just that they should be disarmed in dangerous neighborhoods?

I doubt if he asked their opinion.

The four bills In Michigan will move to the Senate. If they pass there, they go to Governor Rick Snyder. Governor Snyder has a mixed record on support for the Second Amendment.

But with weak arguments like those offered by Rep Jones, he might sign.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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