Fixing More Of Michigan's Gun Laws

More incremental pro-gun owner improvements to Michigan's gun laws are on the way.

The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on the package of state Senate-passed bills that fix Michigan's currently stupid airgun laws.

Under the current law, a pellet pistol or airsoft gun with pellets larger than .177 are considered firearms. At least one judge in Ann Arbor interpreted the law to mean that an airsoft gun was a  firearm under Michigan law so the potential for criminal justice system stupidity is very real indeed. 

The law as written and enforced opened airsoft owners and paintballers to potential criminal liability when transporting or carrying their markers and airsofts, and made purchasing pellet pistols quite a pain.

The law changes it to define firearms as one where a projectile is expelled by explosive not compressed air.

 In other words, they're putting the fire back in the definition of firearm.

Another bill, Senate Bill 789 is also up before the House Judiciary Committee and its a good one.

 It will get rid of the county gun board system and have CPLs issued by the County Clerks after background checks done by the Michigan State Police.  This makes the system a true shall-issue system with fewer delays so long as the person had no mental or criminal history that would prevent them with being issued the permit.

It also reduces the application fee to $90, improves the renewal process quite a bit, and is a good step forward in improving the permit issuing and renewal system.

There's also a bill up to allow active duty military to renew their permits by mail, which is a decent improvement for our active duty military personnel.

Now, with the election done and the state house and senate firmly in Republican hands, it would be an apt time to work on getting rid of the CPL pistol-free zone restrictions.