Substituted SB 59 being heard by the Senate Judiciary Committeee - Nov 1@14:30

[TheQ]

All,

A substituted version of SB 59 (below) is being heard in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov .1 @ 14:30.  I will be present on behalf of Michigan Open Carry and supporting the bill as currently written.  I have heard representatives of MGO and MCRGo will also be present and offering supportive testimony.

Below in order:

• The text of SB 59 as Substituted (Attached)
• Legislative Summary of the Bill
• A DRAFT of my prepared remarks

Permit an applicant to apply for and receive an initial or renewal concealed pistol license at any county clerk's office in the State.

• The applicant would then work through that county for the application process and any subsequent action pertaining to their license.

Permit county gun boards to compel applicants to appear before them ONLY under the following circumstances:

• “The concealed weapon licensing board may require the applicant to appear before the board {existing language removed} for a conference only if the concealed weapon licensing board has reason to believe that the applicant may not be qualified to receive a license to carry a concealed pistol.  The notification to appear shall be in writing and shall be provided to the applicant in person or by mail sent to his or her address on record with the concealed weapon licensing board.  The notification shall include a specific statutory citation to each disqualification to be addressed.  The conference shall be held at a date and time that is mutually agreeable to the concealed weapon licensing board and the applicant.”

Technical changes to references in the statute to other public acts.

Add the name of the county in which a person files and the related application decision to the MSP-maintained CPL database.

• Including this information reflects the fact that residents would now be able to apply in any county, not just their county of residence.
• This change will help avoid ‘license-shopping’ by alerting the MSP and gun board that an individual who has been denied a license in one county subsequently applies in another county.

Members of the committee:

I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to be heard this afternoon.

I am the Assistant Director of Research of Michigan Open Carry.  We are an organization, founded in the Spring of 2009, that promotes and educates the public about the lawful open carry of handguns.  We currently have in excess of 250 dues paying members and hundreds of other supportive activists throughout the State.

Let me start by asking each of you, “Who do you serve”?  Do you serve the law abiding, tax paying citizens of Michigan or a lobbying coalition made up of county governments?

Currently, some citizens are punished by poor processes in certain counties.  They have a hard time getting a CPL or face long delays not because they aren't qualified or have questionable backgrounds but rather because they have the misfortune of living in a county where the County Clerk's Office and County Gun Board are in need of more efficient operations.  Perhaps worse yet, they live in a County where the local government for whatever reason has an anti-gun mentality to the point that they belligerently disregard existing Michigan “Shall-Issue” Law relating to issuing CPLs.  These respectable citizens of Michigan deserve other options.

SB 59 will improve service to the law abiding, tax paying citizens of Michigan.  During a time when local revenues are being cut and police forces are being reduced, SB 59 enables law abiding citizens efficient access to acquire a CPL so they may better protect themselves and their loved ones whether they are at home or out grocery shopping.  It also rewards County Governments that have an efficient yet thorough operation for issuing CPLs while also providing incentives to those County governments that are lagging behind to improve their own operations.  It enables efficient County Governments that are utilizing best practices to flourish.

Michigan Open Carry is proud to offer it's support of SB 59 in its current form and we look forward to the day it is signed into law by the Governor.

Again let me ask you, “who do you serve”?

Thank you again for your time.

[TheQ]

MGO, MCRGO, and MOC were all present at today's hearing.  All supported SB 59 S-2 (not yet published).  S-2 contains some technical changes inserted by the MSP, Language that prevents "Gun Board Shopping" (wanted by the MSP), and language that "forces" any county to accept an application from any State Citizen (added at Tall Bear's request).

It was great to see TallBear (MGO liason) at the meeting.  We both expressed frustration to one another that the bill won't have any "teeth" to "truly force" county officials to act appropriately, but we agreed S-2 was a good step forward.