Jail time for practicing a right?
That’s the penalty for carrying a concealed pistol in the state of Michigan without a Concealed Pistol License.
In California, it’s only a misdemeanor.
That’s right, Michigan law penalizing the victimless crime of carrying without a permit is harsher than the gun control haven of California.
Carrying a concealed pistol without a permit is now completely legal in 15 states, with more sure to pass this landmark legislation in the not so distant future.
These states have taken the bold step of recognizing the right to keep and bear arms by passing what is commonly referred to as Constitutional Carry, and it’s long past time for the Michigan Legislature to advance this legislation.
My goal is to bury legislators in an avalanche of Constitutional Carry petitions to show the overwhelmingly support for this commonsense pro-gun legislation and your signed petition will help me do just that!
Along with your signed petition, I hope you’ll consider making a generous contribution to help fund our fight for Constitutional Carry.
I wrote earlier this summer to let you know that State Representative Steve Johnson (R-HD 72) introduced Constitutional Carry as a five bill package, HB 4770-4774.
Joining him in sponsoring this important legislation are fellow pro-gun Representatives Matt Maddock (R-HD 44), Michele Hoitenga (R-HD 102), John Reilly (R-HD 46) and Pamela Hornberger (R-HD32).
The legislation, which has a bi-partisan group of 11 co-sponsors, is sitting in the House Military, Veterans and Homeland Security Committee chaired by State Rep. Beau LaFave (R-HD 108) where it is awaiting its first committee hearing and vote.
As you know, this life-saving bill package allows law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed pistol and carry a pistol in a car without having to pay expensive fees, take government-mandated training or getting finger-printed like a common criminal!
The first step to getting Constitutional Carry to the House floor for a vote is getting it through the committee process.
With the Legislature back from summer break and seemingly done with the state budget, now is the time for the Republican-controlled Legislature to take a bold step in defense of our gun rights by advancing Constitutional Carry.
You see, after the horrific attacks in Texas and Ohio this summer, the Gun Control Lobby is fully expecting Michigan lawmakers to be too afraid to take up pro-gun legislation.
And they certainly are correct with states like Ohio and Texas where “pro-gun” Republicans are stumbling over themselves to support gun control.
In Ohio, NRA-endorsed Republican Governor Mike DeWine is openly pushing due process-shredding “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation orders.
And then in Texas, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has gone completely off the rails and is using the talking points of the anti-gun Left and calling for Universal Gun Registration.
You and I can ill afford to allow the Republican-led Michigan Legislature to just go on cruise control and do nothing on gun rights.
Of course, many will use the excuse that since we have an openly anti-gun Governor in Gretchen Whitmer, there’s no point to push solid pro-gun legislation through the legislative process.
But with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey seemingly cracking under the pressure from his anti-gun colleagues by promising a hearing on “Red Flag,” there has never been a more important time to push Constitutional Carry.
You and I both know that none of the gun control measures being pushed by the Gun Control Lobby would do anything to prevent criminals from getting their hands on guns.
Instead, all these anti-gun laws do is make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to arm themselves against potential criminal attacks.
But by supposedly “pro-gun” lawmakers buying the junk science being pushed by the Gun Control Lobby, the gun rights movement is stuck in defensive mode just trying to fight off gun control proposal after gun control proposal.
It’s time to fight back and show our lawmakers here in Michigan that we expect them to go on the offensive by advancing Constitutional Carry for a vote in the full House!
Help us accomplish our goal to get a vote by signing your Constitutional Carry petition!
Of course, our chances of making Constitutional Carry the law of the land while Governor Whitmer is in office are slim, just by having the fight we are putting anti-gun politicians on defense, which is good news for our gun rights.
You see, if we force a vote on Constitutional Carry, lawmakers can choose to stand with pro-gun Michiganders or be forced to explain why they voted to treat gun owners like criminals by maintaining our state’s gun control status quo.
And in the process, many anti-gun politicians currently sitting in pro-gun districts will be exposed to their pro-gun constituents, which is all but sure to come at a political cost come election year.
We already got a taste of what this looks like after HB 4434, a bill lessening the penalties on carrying with an expired CPL, passed overwhelmingly in the House with only 19 Democrats voting against.
What these 19 Democrats are saying is that they agree with the radical position of Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action that it is reasonable to ruin a person’s life with a five year felony for what is essentially a paperwork violation.
And several of the Democrats who voted against this commonsense bill are sitting in seats that are sure to be competitive in 2020.
So getting a vote on Constitutional Carry will only force even more anti-gun lawmakers to take the indefensible position of punishing gun owners with a five year felony for carrying without a CPL.
I’ve spoken first hand with one gentleman who is currently getting his life turned upside down because of our state’s draconian carry laws.
He made the mistake of carrying a pistol in his car without a CPL while broken down on the side of the road in a bad part of town.
Since Michigan has the 4th most expensive permit to obtain and maintain, he just didn’t have the financial resources to afford the ridiculously high tax to get a CPL.
Instead, he openly carried his pistol outside of his vehicle up until he got in his car at the wrong time to make a quick phone call.
A law enforcement officer pulled up behind him just as he got in the car and popped him for carrying a pistol in a car without a CPL.
He now faces five years in jail and thousands of dollars in legal fees and lost wages for committing essentially a victimless crime.
Any lawmaker who believes this man deserves a life-altering five year felony is a radical, heartless ideologue who isn’t actually interested in stopping “gun violence” in Michigan, but pushing an agenda that treats gun owners like criminals.
The truth is, this is not going to be an easy fight.
The Gun Control Lobby knows that if we are successful in firing up pro-gun Michiganders and get our vote on Constitutional Carry, it could set back their plans here in Michigan by years.
They hope that pro-gun Michiganders will sit by on the sideline and be complacent with just maintaining the status quo.
But by mobilizing the grassroots and forcing a vote on solid pro-gun legislation, we are going to expose just how out-of-step many anti-gun lawmakers are with their districts.
But to make this plan successful, I am going to have to grow our ranks and reach out to as many gun rights activists as possible through an aggressive outreach program using mail, email and social media.
And all of this is going to cost money — money that I don’t currently have.
Whatever you can give will be used to push through this vote on Constitutional Carry and expose the radical anti-gunners in Lansing.
Please also forward this email to encourage your pro-gun family and friends to sign the petition as well!
Thank you in advance for your activism and support!
For Freedom,
Brenden Boudreau
Executive Director
Great Lakes Gun Rights