Last week saw Governor Snyder veto a state house bill involving an overhaul of the concealed pistol license procedures proposed by state senator Mike Green [R-Mayville].  The bill drew the Governor's veto because it would have loosened some prohibitions against obtaining a gun for some domestic abusers.

When the proposed legislation, designed to streamline the procedure for obtaining a concealed pistol license by putting the Michigan State Police in charge, went back to the lab, Senator Green promptly stripped the offensive language and put the bill back on track; it is now on fast-track consideration in the state senate.

In vetoing the initial version of the bill, the Governor stated his concern was not to take the chance of exposing victims of domestic violence to additional intimidation and more violence.  The current state of the law proscribes a CPL from being issued to anyone under the injunctive scope of a personal protection order.

Judges involved in a case featuring a PPO can also impose additional restrictions on an individual within that judge's jurisdiction.  Also, as Green has pointed out whenever he explains his bill, federal law likewise bans the issuance of a CPL to anyone that is the subject of a PPO.

If and when the bill passes in its latest iteration, it will abolish the current system of county gun boards, and will centralize the CPL administration through the Michigan State Police.  Some see this as a positive to the extent that guns can be concealed on an applicant's person a few weeks quicker than under the old system.  Others see the local gun boards as a useful local layer of supervision that may be better equipped to detect an inappropriate applicant that perhaps should not have a pistol concealed on his person.

All of this occurs within the context of rising gun deaths across the nation.  Guns are expected to overtake vehicles as the leading cause of death of young persons under the age of 25.

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