Allowing Concealed Carry had little effect on crime

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Gun law had little effect on crime
Friday, January 2, 2005
By Steven Hepker
Staff Writer

# Police say there’s little evidence gun use is up in crimes
or that permit holders have prevented violence.

Opponents warned of vigilantes run amok, more accidental
shootings and road rage escalating to gunfire.

Backers of Michigan’s expanded concealed-weapons law talked
of thwarted attacks by thugs, reduced crime and personal
safety.

Three years of experience in Jackson County and statewide
indicate the biggest impact of the July 2001 shall-issue law
is peace of mind for some 110,000 people packing heat.

“It’s like brakes on a car,” said Roger Liberty of Liberty
Township of his sidearm and permit to carry. “Just good to
know they work when you need them.”

Vigilantism and increased accidental shootings? Not that
can be tied to an increase in CCW permits, nor do records
indicate more citizens carrying handguns deterred crime.

The revised law required county gun boards to issue CCW
permits to applicants who met a long list of requirements,
including passing an 8-hour course, being of sound mind and
having a clean record.

Previously, the process was subjective. Some counties
adopted a shall-issue process. Others, like Jackson County,
kept a tight grip on permits, routinely denying retired
cops, business owners and residents in high-crime areas.

Liberty, 73, was in the first class of 220 people who
received permits in Jackson County in August 2001 — 20
times the usual number OK’d under former rules.

He completed advanced training recently and was awarded a
five-year renewal of his CCW permit.

“I didn’t have to take the training again, but you are
smarter if you do,” he said. “I feel very good about it.”

Like most with concealed weapons permits, he has never had
to use a gun for protection, or even threaten its use.

Law enforcement officials locally say the shall-issue law
has not unleashed vigilante justice. Although
self-protection probably has happened, no one has made such
a report to area police.

Crimes by those with CCW permits are rare.

“People who apply and qualify for CCW permits generally are
among the finest citizens; otherwise they would not
qualify,” said John M. Snyder, spokesman for the grassroots
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in
Washington, D.C.

A typical CCW holder might spend $400 to $700 for a legal
gun, plus $250 for training and a CCW permit — not a
trifling amount.

A few permit holders have been hauled before the county gun
board for “brandishing” a weapon, but apparently no legal
gun carrier has fired on a person, Jackson County Sheriff’s
Capt. David Luce said.

Before the new law took effect in 2001, the gun board issued
about 10 CCW permits a month. That jumped to several
hundred in the initial months.

Chief Deputy Clerk Erin Foster said the county issued 125
permits in 2000, and 742 the next year. Figures since: 771
in 2002; 421 in 2003, and 690 in 2004.

Statewide, counties handled 35,585 permit applications in
the year ending June 30, and awarded 31,121. Gun boards
denied 312 permits. About 4,100 applications are pending,
Michigan State Police reported.

Permits initially were for three years, so Jackson County is
handling a flood of renewals, Luce said. Permits now last
five years and cost $105, including fingerprinting at the
sheriff’s department, processing by county clerks and state
police checks.

Foster said about 80 percent of the permits issued in 2004
were renewals, which do not require the applicant to come
before the gun board or take more training. Those with red
flags — reports of a brandishing or a pending criminal
matter — must meet with the board.

“They can have their permits suspended or revoked, depending
on what we find out,” said Luce, who represents Sheriff
Daniel Heyns at the monthly board meeting.

The revised law started a cottage industry for those who
teach firearms safety and sell handguns, ammunition and
accessories.

Before, critics said CCW permits were controlled by a
good-old-boy network in most counties. There wasn’t much
call for handgun training centers.

“You had to know someone,” said Penny Canning, who started
JPC Firearms Instructors with her husband, John, after the
new law began. It is a hobby and part-time job for them.

They hold classes at the Jackson County Outdoor Club. It
costs $125 for the class, $150 if a handgun is rented.

“I almost prefer they don’t come with their own gun, because
they tend to go out and buy the biggest gun they can shoot,”
said Penny Canning, one of a handful of female instructors
statewide.

About 40 percent of their clients are women, she said. Many
couples take the class together.

The firearms industry reports the fastest-growing segment in
handgun sales is women, and most gun makers design guns just
for women.

While the shall-issue legislation was debated heatedly for
years — and opposed by police associations, prosecutors and
gun-control groups — it quickly faded as a social concern.

“I have been pleasantly surprised,” said Jackson County
Prosecutor Hank Zavislak, who opposed the legislation as the
county’s longtime sheriff. “We have not seen any major
issues with the law and no significant incidents of
violence.”

Zavislak said the extensive background checks and training
requirements are vital to the success of the
concealed-weapons process.

More than 30 states have enacted shall-issue legislation and
some — Vermont, for instance — allow citizens to carry
concealed weapons without permits.

“If there were incidences of CCW holders involved in crimes,
the media would be all over it,” Snyder said