The Michigan Public Act 372 of 1927 was Michigan’s first foray (my not-so-subtle term for this action) into the regulation of firearms ownership and use. To this day, all Michigan gun laws exist as amendments to this initial law. Indeed, the section listing the regulations for carrying a concealed firearm in Michigan are contained in section 5j of 1927 PA372. The decision to pass these regulations didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was triggered by several events that took place in 1925-26. It’s an interesting subject and I invite you to delve more deeply into it, but in the interest of brevity I’ll summarize it here.
In September 1925 a successful black Detroit physician named Ossian Sweet (his first name was pronounced like the word “ocean”) was charged with murder. He and his wife had purchased a home in an all-white neighborhood and moved in on Sept. 8th. On the evening of Sept. 9th, a group of neighbors formed in front of the Sweet residence and there was a confrontation between some of them and Dr. Sweet. Some accounts say that he received threats from several of them. The neighborhood was largely made up of working-class whites, most of whom would have had an income substantially less than the Sweets. This was thought by some to have been the cause of much of the ill-will felt toward them. Because of this episode, the Chief Inspector of Police and a detachment of officers were ordered to monitor the vicinity of the Sweet home on the next evening (Sept. 10th). Dr. Sweet had invited several friends and family members to join him on that evening in case they were needed to help defend his home. Several of the men were armed with guns. In all, there were 11 people in the home, 10 men and Mrs. Sweet. At some point during the evening a group of neighbors had gathered again in front of the home. One or more of the men in the house moved upstairs to gain a better vantage point. Some of the neighbors began throwing rocks, eventually breaking an upstairs window. Someone in the house fired. One man was hit in the leg. Another man, who was watching from a porch, was hit and killed. All 11 people present in the house were charged with murder. Several trials took place, including a mistrial and a hung jury. After an all-white jury acquitted Dr. Sweet’s brother, all charges against all defendants were dropped.
The whole episode became a political football. The Ku Klux Klan still held considerable political clout at that time and they became fairly high profile on one side, with the NAACP on the other. The Klan faction lobbied for gun restrictions. The result was the aforementioned Michigan Public Act 372 of 1927, “An act to regulate and license the selling, purchasing, possessing, and carrying of certain firearms.”
So what was the Klan faction thinking? Well, it stuck in their collective craw that black people could so easily arm and defend themselves. The law was commonly enforced much more strictly against blacks than whites. It’s a not-so-commonly known fact that keeping guns out of the hands of blacks was the driving force behind many of this country’s insipient gun laws , especially in the postbellum Democrat-controlled South. Many people feared an armed black populace. In the South especially, there was still much anti-black activity going on, some of it violent in nature, and people didn’t appreciate them being able to effectively defend themselves. Passing restrictive gun laws and writing them in such a way as to make them effectively biased against blacks, and/or selectively enforcing them, became the order of the day, especially throughout the South.
Fast forward 74 years, to what I think is the most positive thing to happen in my lifetime for people who value their life and their ability to protect it. Michigan became what is referred to as a “shall-issue” state on July 1, 2001, and I obtained my Concealed Pistol License (CPL) about 3 months later. Essentially, what the term “shall-issue” refers to is that the state must show a reason for not issuing a concealed pistol license. This is the inverse of what is called a “may-issue” state, and that is what Michigan was prior to 2001. May-issue means that the burden is on the individual to convince the state that they have a compelling need to carry a concealed handgun, rather than the state having to show why they shouldn’t have one. I had one many years ago for hunting. It contained specific guidelines as to when and where I could carry concealed. The main advantage to it was that I could carry my handgun concealed while hunting instead of having to openly carry it. The state issued concealed carry permits to individuals for other specific reasons, such as for business owners transporting money. All of these had their various limitations as to when and where the person could carry their handgun. There were also a few fortunate individuals who possessed what was referred to as a “general” permit. These had few restrictions. I had a friend who had one for many years. There was no reason that I knew of for him to have it, and his story was that he “knew somebody”. Knowing what I know now, the person he “knew” would almost certainly have been the county sheriff. I’m sure there was a little mutual “backscratching” going on. (Some things never change.)
When Michigan became a shall-issue state in 2001, there were a number of shall-issue states already in existence, but the majority of the states at that time used some form of “may-issue” laws. Like Michigan, most were tightly controlled and regulated. In the 22 years since then, the picture has drastically changed. We used to go to Florida for spring break every year. Though Florida honored it, for the first few years that I had my Michigan CPL there was no legal way for me to drive from Michigan to Florida with my handgun. Now, any logical route between Michigan and Florida is legal. There are now 39 states that are either shall-issue, or what is commonly called “constitutional-carry” states. These states don’t have a list of requirements that must be met, such as training, in order to obtain their license. Actually, as a rule they don’t even issue licenses or permits. If you haven’t committed a crime that prevents you from doing so, you’re “good-to-go”. The number of constitutional-carry states has been steadily increasing, and they now outnumber shall-issue states 27 to 12. They don’t all have the same restrictions. Some prohibit open carry, age restrictions vary, and resident vs non-resident requirements vary.
Michigan CPL holders have the benefit of what is called a “reciprocity agreement” with all 11 of the other shall issue states. This simply means that we honor their licenses and they honor ours. Michigan enjoys more reciprocity agreements than many other shall-issue states because of our stricter training requirements. Residents of constitutional carry states must obtain a permit or license from their state in order to legally carry in Michigan. One caveat concerning carrying in other states, however, is that you need to make sure when you’re carrying or traveling through these states, you’re familiar with their laws. Though they honor your CPL, you must be sure to obey their regulations. There can be significant differences between theirs and those of Michigan. I carried for many years while vacationing in Florida, taking advantage of the fact that they honored my Michigan CPL. In Michigan there is no consequence to inadvertently exposing your handgun, if you’re otherwise legally carrying it. In Florida it’s a chargeable offense, even if it’s only momentary, if you’re unfortunate enough to have it observed and reported. I know of one such incident that happened there. A man exited a 7-11 with a bag of goods, opened his driver’s door, and reached across to place it on the passenger seat. In doing so his shirt hiked up, exposing the handgun on his waist. There happened to be a cop sitting in his cruiser next to him. He said something like “Hey buddy, you’re showing.”. The man sheepishly pulled his shirt back down. The cop started asking questions like “What are you carrying?” and “How do you like it?”, in a friendly manner. Most cops take into consideration things like intent and circumstances, but don’t count on it. That man was lucky. He could have been ticketed and had his gun confiscated. There are also many variations between states as to where you may and may not carry your handgun. They also differ in what they may require of you if you’re stopped by a law enforcement officer. Yet another variable is how much alcohol you can have in your system and still legally carry. In Michigan, it’s .02 percent. This level is so low that for all intents and purposes it’s nearly impossible to drink at all and still legally be carrying in Michigan. It’s up to you to check current regulations for every state in which you plan to travel through or stay. Every state has its regulations posted on their respective website. I believe the URL of most (if not all) of them is “statename”.gov.
Do the math, and you’ll realize that there are 11 states left. These are the may-issue states. Most, if not all, of the may-issue states are for all intents and purposes, what I call the Don’t even think about it! states. Theoretically at least, a person can get a license to carry. If you’re rich, powerful, famous, or otherwise well-connected, then you have a chance. But if you’re one of the “unwashed masses” like most of us, don’t even think about it. With the exception of two states, you’ll find all of them along either the east or west coast. The two exceptions are Hawaii, and Illinois. Hawaii of course is easily avoided. I wish I could say the same of Illinois. Most people who live in Michigan’s lower peninsula have occasion to travel to destinations by car that logically will route them through Illinois. Whether or not you can legally travel through Illinois with your handgun, and if so how to do it, may depend entirely on the law enforcement officer who happens to pull you over. Do the following if you must travel through any so-called may-issue state, not just Illinois. Go to their official website and download all of their current regulations pertaining to traveling through their state with a gun. They will have regulations specifically for handguns. Print out a hard copy of them. When you’re traveling through their little dystopian paradise (if you must), make sure you follow their regulations to the letter. Finally, make sure you have that hard copy you printed out with you, just in case you need it.