No, That Sounds Like A Robbery Attempt Gone Sorta Good

The Detroit News: 15-year-old fatally shot in apparent robbery attempt, Detroit police say

Described as a "robbery gone bad" in the article,  a 15-year-old and an accomplice attempted to rob a man at around 11pm in Detroit .

This didn't work out well, as the male victim of the robbery attempt had a CPL (Concealed Pistol License), was carrying,  and shot the robber, who died 4 blocks away.

Expect reports soon on how the 15-year-old was a "good boy" and "was never in no trouble" as we as how he was imminently "turning his life around" any minute now.

Stupid Criminals: A Case Of Bad Target Selection In Detroit

So, a robber attempted to rob a Detroit citizen at gunpoint last Thursday.

Unbeknownst to the robber, the victim had a CPL, and he promptly shot the robber.

Click On Detroit: Man in critical condition after trying to rob CPL holder at gunpoint in Detroit

 The robber was taken to the hospital and the CPL holder properly acted in self-defense.

Yet another example of armed citizens stopping criminals and protecting themselves.

It's Not Due To Racism, it's Due To Incompetence, Criminality, And Ignorance

 The Detroit Free Press: Racial disparity in nonviolent gun arrests leads advocates to call for dropping charges

The news article could alternatively be called:

 Wayne County Clerk Doesn't Do It's Job, Minorities Hardest Hit 

The facts are that  Detroit is over 80% Black, so it's not surprising that 97% of those charged are indeed mainly Blacks that will get hit for carrying concealed without a permit.  

Add the fact that there's a vibrant criminal class that happens to be disproportionately Black in Detroit that is knowingly flouting the law and carrying illegally to commit crimes and the percentages are not surprising, nor explainable by simply pulling the race card.

Understand, the Prosecutor in Detroit is Black, the vast majority of the assistant prosecutors are Black, The Wayne County Sheriff is Black, and the Detroit Police Chief is Black.  The majority of the Detroit government is Black. 

Blaming this on race and Playing the race card against them is a fool's errand.

Of course, had Wayne County actually processed CPL applications in any timely fashion it would have alleviated a lot of these charges upon the otherwise law-abiding as the law-abiding people would have their CPLs.  Some people I know have been charged in Detroit due to expired CPLs, because again because the Clerk is not doing her job. The Wayne County Clerk continues the delays to this day.

Some of the charges are also unfortunately due to ignorance and people not knowing the law. 

Michigan has open carry, and open carry without any permit is lawful. But, having a loaded pistol in a vehicle, even if it is visible,  is not open carrying but is essentially considered to be concealed and thus requiring a CPL.  People who don't know better, but really should, doth make this mistake a lot.

In short the problem is very real, and a mix of actual criminals getting caught and the innocent swept up with them due to carrying illegally through ignorance, but racism has damn well nothing to do with it.

Wayne County CPL Case: Unfortuately, The Judge Ruled Exactly As We Expected

Well, Wayne County Clerk successfully mooted the case by snatching all the named plaintiffs and moving up their appointments and giving them their CPLs before the hearing.

By a complete and astonishing coincidence, I'm sure,  all 3 of them had their appointments moved up on the very same day, 5 days after we filed the complaint with the very same Wayne County Clerk.

Since they all got their CPLs or applications accepted  -  the judge reasoned they can't ask the Clerk to do anything more, and the advocacy groups do not have standing for mandamus relief.

Well crap.  We did good for our named Plaintiffs, but everyone else will still be delayed and waiting interminably for the clerk to do her job now.

Assuming we get some more Wayne County residents who are stuck waiting for their appointments to happen, we're going to have to caption it John Doe and Jane Doe to stop these shenanigans.

Well, That Went As Well As Could Be Expected

We had the oral argument for the show cause hearing for our writ of mandamus claim in our case against the Wayne County Clerk for their delaying and failure to accept CPL applications.

It went, as the title suggests, as well as could be expected.

One fun detail we shared with the Court was the County proceeding to poach our named plaintiffs and thus trying to get the case dismissed as moot.

For example my client had applied on February 11, 2021 and was given an appointment date of January 25, 2022   - yes almost a year after being scheduled in order for a few minute appointment for the county clerk to just accept her application.  Until the application is accepted, you have no remedy nor ability to get a CPL.  A right delayed being a right denied and all that.

We will note that no other County service is having such a delay - not marriages, not getting birth or death certificates, nothing else.   Indeed, no other County in this state is delaying accepting applications like this, none.

We file our complaint on March 25.  On March 30, funnily enough, my client's appointment gets moved up to June 30, 2021, and then on April 8, 2021 it is moved to April 24, 2021 in order to take place before the show cause briefs are due.

Funny how that happens, and it just happened to occur to all the named plaintiffs.  Next time we will file as John and Jane Does.

The law states the application shall be turned in during normal business hours, and the clerk shall do what they're supposed to do with it during normal business hours - not 11 months later.

I believe we did a good job arguing the law and facts of the case, but there's a good chance the judge will just agree with the County and say Covid makes it necessary for the delays, so we will see what happens.  Decision should be soon.

Wayne County Firearm Rights Case Filed

I'm proud that I can now say I'm on the legal team involved in the lawsuit against the Wayne County Clerk's Office  here in Michigan for their abject failure and refusal to timely issue and renew Concealed Pistol Licenses.

We are seeking a writ of mandamus and other relief to have the Clerk properly and timely process Concealed Pistol Licenses and renewals as required by law.

The complaint is now e-filed as of a few minutes ago.

Michigan Concealed Carrier Prevents A Potential Mass Murder

With no shots being fired.

The Detroit News: Adrian man faces 3 felonies in fatal Meijer stabbing

A 29-year-old Adrian man jailed for murder in the fatal stabbing of an 85-year-old man at a Meijer store in the city faces three felony charges, officials said Thursday.

Alarik Guajardo was booked Wednesday on an "open charge of homicide," said Sgt. Nathan Adams, who works in booking at the Lenawee County Jail, early Thursday.

. . . .

Police arrested the 29-year-old man at the scene after a customer with a concealed carry license held him at gunpoint until police arrived.

So the female concealed carrier held him until the police arrived and likely prevented him from stabbing other customers.  There's no information that the killer knew the victim and it appears to be a random opportunistic murder attack. 

Well done on the part of the CPL holder.

Timing, While Not Everything, is Pretty Damn Important

On today's legal soap opera: Like sands through the hourglass, these are the statutes of limitations.

Yep another hapless potential client lost to the sands of bad timing, on their part. Even better, I told him in writing of the time limit - twice!

Our potential but not retained client had his concealed pistol license denied.

The denial is due to the CPL clerk misreading the disqualifying statutes and thinking something he did fits the definition, which it actually dies not. In short this is a very winnable case and the denial can be fixed because -

There's an appeals process for a denial, and the appeal must be filed within 21 days from the denial or it is lost.

Remember the 21 day part, it's kinda important.

When he first called, he was 60 days past his denial. As such, do not pass go, do not file appeal, as 60 is greater than 21, you're over 21 days, no point paying me to tell you you've lost, you've lost.

I explain this to him and reiterate the importance of appealing within 21 days of the denial, and tell him to apply again to get denied again if they deny for the same reason so we can appeal a fresh denial.

He agrees to do so and I send him a retainer letter and he states he will apply and retain me then. He doesn't sign or return the retainer, nor pay the rather modest retainer amount, and as such I assume he doesn't want me to fix this problem for him.

He just called me today. He last applied in January and was duly denied on January 31, 2020.

While you may have been told there would be no math in this post dear readers, all of you (I hope) instinctively know without even looking at a calendar, nor counting on your fingers, nor on your phones, that there are more than 21 days between any day in January and March 10.

Counting days is apparently very hard. Sheesh.

Well That Sucks: ATF Decides Michigan CPLs No Longer Qualify For NICS Exemption

Concealed Pistol License holders in Michigan have been used to being exempt from NICS checks when purchasing firearms.

That ends today: PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY TO ALL MICHIGAN FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES

In spite of this specific statutory requirement, ATF recently received information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division Audit Unit that Michigan CPLs have been, and continue to be issued to certain applicants without a determination by Michigan officials as to whether the applicant is prohibited under Federal law from possessing or transporting firearms . Specifically, ATF learned that CPLs were and continue to be issued to applicants who were likely prohibited due to a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)), and to habitual marijuana users (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3)). Although possession and use of marijuana is not unlawful under Michigan law, marijuana remains a "controlled substance" under Federal law, and those using marijuana are prohibited from possessing or transporting a firearm pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).

The ATF Open Letter issued to All Michigan Federal Firearms Licensees on March 24, 2006 is rescinded as of the date of this letter because, as explained above, a valid Michigan CPL is no longer a NICS alternative under 18 U.S.C. § 922(t).

All Michigan FFLs are required to conduct a NICS background check prior to the transfer of a firearm to a non-licensee, even if that individual possesses a valid, unexpired CPL.

Well, that certainly sucks.

Fourteen years of that quite useful exemption is now gone.

I suspect the focus here is likely on Medical Marijuana card holders and now recreational pot users getting CPLs, especially with the recent legalization of marijuana.

Basically, Michigan needs to work on stopping issuing them to prohibited persons, assuming Michigan actually is issuing them to prohibited persons and this ATF determination is not an overreaction based on the supposed issuance to "likely prohibited" persons due to marijuana being legalized at the state level.

Your Misleading Michigan Media Headline Of The Day

The headline from The Detroit News: Police: CPL holder shoots man who stole iPhone

You read that half expecting a CPL holder imrpolerly shot someone over property dispute, perhaps imagining the CPL'r shooting the thief who had grabbed an iPhone and was running away.

In reality, not so much, go ahead an read the whole short article but here's the highlight:

In the course of the transaction, the suspect pulled out a handgun, police said.

But the 23-year-old — who has a license to carry a concealed handgun — pulled out his own gun and shot the suspect in his right thigh.

The suspect was spotted leaving the area in a silver Toyota with three other men, who transported him to Henry Ford Hospital, where he remains in police custody. No update on his condition is immediately available.

The headline should more properly read, suing the same number of words: CPL Holder Defends Self From Armed Robbery

But that wouldn't fit in with the editorial bias, now would it?

Value Subtracted: Be Careful Who Teaches Your Budget CPL Class

I get a call as I'm on the USCCA's attorney referral list, and the caller is looking for an attorney as she has a brand new CPL and wants to be prepared in case something bad ever happens.

We start talking and it becomes quickly apparent there's a real gap in her knowledge of some very basic lethal force law that having taken a class she really should know.

It gets more interesting when I ask whether an attorney or police office covered the use of deadly force and Michigan firearms law section in her CPL class.

I'm halfway expecting to hear it was a police officer that taught that portion, but, "Why no" she says, "just the instructor". That's a bit of a red flag right there especially as the instructor is neither a peace officer nor an attorney.

It also turns out the class was from a GroupOn offer, and she then states he didn't teach the class for the minimum 8 hours, only 4 hours which is yet another very big no-no.

Not only does the state mandate the minimum to be 8 hours, but you really can't teach the required material in 4 hours. Another clue was that the "classroom" portion took place at Panera, and he gave her a certificate that was not from a recognized training organization, just his own thing.

How Wayne County accepted that certificate is beyond me, as they're only supposed to accept nationally or state recognized training programs and this one sure is not. But, apparently they did and issued her the CPL.

Looking at the guy's website, while he claims to be an NRA certified instructor, he's not teaching an NRA certified or sanctioned course or issuing an NRA certificate, and he's not meeting state requirements for a proper CPL class.

But I'm sure the class was a great value for the $60 charged.

Well, not so great a value considering his issuing a certificate to a student for an insufficient class is a felony on his part for each and every certificate he doles out, and the fact that he's now put people on the street with statutorily defective training and improper certifications which is a legal nightmare just waiting to happen for all concerned.

I told her she needs to take a valid CPL class from a legitimate instructor pronto, not to mention report the scam that the fellow has going to the proper authorities.

You get what you pay for, but you may not realize that what you paid for by saving money with a budget class from a cutting-corners "instructor" is exposure to both criminal and civil liability.

Wayne County Keeps Messing With CPL Applicants

So one of the students in my most recent CPL class lives in Wayne County, the Democrat stronghold where Detroit is located.

Even now, years after shall-issue reform was passed, they are only grudgingly issuing CPLs and try to make it as unpleasant as possible. Given some newer rules preventing their unreasonable time delays of the recent past, they're now apparently trying to get more creative.

So my student went to the clerk's office application and NRA Certificate form the class in hand and the clerk starts making all new requirements.

First, she wants to know when my credentials expire, which is not on the certificate, nor is that required to be on the certificate.

Second, then she wants the NRA's training division phone number to be placed on the certificate. Again, that's neither required to be on the certificate nor needed to be provided.

Third and most impressively, the clerk states that he can't apply for a CPL because he took his training in Oakland County, not Wayne county so his certificate can't be used to apply for a permit in Wayne County.

Legally and factually wrong. It's a statewide triangle standard, for a statewide CPL permit, and the course is a nationally recognized and specifically Michigan state recognized course. He could take the class up in the Mackinac Peninsula for all that it matters and it would still be valid applying for a CPL in any county in Michigan.

My student calls me from the clerk's office asking me about this and I provide that info to the clerk even though it is not required. I also set her straight that the course is in fact valid for his application. Apparently a Sheriff's deputy at the clerks office is overhearing this and also told her to quit messing around and process the application as she is supposed to do.

She finally and grudgingly did so.

Had she not, a nice, fast, and likely very effective mandamus lawsuit would have caught their attention methinks.

Seriously Wayne County Clerks, get with reality already. Shall issue is here, has been for 15 years without your fear-mongering predictions of blood in the streets. Just do your jobs already and quit trying to put up improper obstacles for people exercising their ability to carry concealed firearms in accordance with the law already.

P30 Hits 1,200 Rounds And Still Flawless

I taught a CPL class for a couple friends today.

Good class, attentive students, and at the range they did very well.

We did all the required drills for the class and once all of them were done successfully, we practiced shooting some steel plates which they found a tad challenging and a lot harder than it looked when I had demonstrated it. But, with encouragement and instruction, they were doing quite well by the time we were done.

I used my P30 to demonstrate each of the drills and to do the steel plate shoots and 200 more rounds were fired with zero malfunctions.

Externally, it was showing some oil seepage after being in the intense heat and humidity at the range. Internally, it's getting a tad grungy as 1,200 rounds with no cleaning will do that.

I got to handle a Ruger LC9s as one of my students had just bought it as his intended carry gun and had it to the range for the first time. With a single 7 rounds magazine he got lots of practice reloading for it. He fired 100 rounds through it with no failures. I fired a further 21 rounds through it and had no failures either and found the sites to be perfectly on and knowcke a full plate rack down with no misses. The trigger which is the Glock-lke arrangement of a trigger nub (longer than the Glock nub) inside the trigger. The trigger felt lighter, a bit shorter and a bit smoother than a Glock trigger. It's comparable in size and just slightly larger than the Kahr PM9. For under $400 he got a good deal on it and it should do well as a CPL pistol for him.

That was a very good day.

Rise In Concealed Permits In Michigan And Opponents' Reactions Show We're Winning

Detroit Free Press: Applications up in Michigan for concealed gun licenses

How do we know we're (slowly) winning in Michigan?

We know it when opponents of firearms rights respond to the news that Concealed Carry Permits are increasing in Michigan not with reasoned argument (as if there was any reasoned argument against such).

We know it when opponents of firearms rights respond to the news that Concealed Carry Permits are increasing in Michigan not with facts.

We know it when opponents of firearms rights respond to the news that Concealed Carry Permits are increasing in Michigan with dick jokes.

Yes, dick jokes.

When the best The Detroit Free Press's left-wing cartoonist Mike Thompson can do to respond to the news that people in Michigan are taking the decision to get legal concealed carry permits is make a crude cartoon consisting of a viagra dick joke, I'd say that's a clear sign we're winning.

Michigan's County Gun Boards Go Bye-Bye

A holdover from the rather racist past of Michigan's gun control laws, the County Gun Boards are finally on their way out.

The Detroit News: County gun boards abolished in Mich. starting Tuesday

The Gun Boards were originally composed of the county prosecutor, a state police representative and a sheriff's office representative and you needed two out of three "yes" votes to get a permit. For some time prior to Shall issue, the Michigan State Police had a policy of an automatic "no" vote on applications.

The board's original purpose was, to put it mildly, to ensure that none but the "right sort of people" get a carry permit. The right sort of course always included the connected and those who made the appropriate contribution to the appropriate politician's coffers to buy the required yes votes. An ordinary decent citizen in most counties had little to no chance of getting a carry permit.

Since shall-issue passed, the gun boards have had very little raison d'etre.

Some accepted this with good grace, some with mild go-slow obstructionism, and others decided to be petulant and require every single applicant to spend time before them during a working day even when the board had no valid reason to question, much less deny, their permit application.

That this anachronism is finally being done away with is a very good thing.

Not Exactly The Definition Of Being Tactically Ambiguous

Saw this on the drive home last night:

Hard to be carrying concealed when you're announcing to all and sundry that you're doing so. Also, leaving the car in a public parking lot in Detroit and expecting it to not get broken into if it's near a CPL-No-Go-Zone venue may be a forlorn hope.

Any bets the first question he gets asked when he's pulled over is: "Where's the gun?".

More Anti-NRA Calumnies From The Detroit Free Press

In an incident last week, a female CPL holder opened fire at two fleeing felon shoplifters at a home depot. No one was injured in the crime nor in her misguided intervention. Said shooter is now being charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless discharge of a firearm.

Dipping into other people's fights is never a good idea. Using deadly force to protect property is not allowed in Michigan. Furthermore, dipping into a non-violent crime in progress by cranking off some rounds at a fleeing criminal when it is not even you're stuff they're taking and they're not posing a deadly threat to you or others is a really bad idea.

In short, this particular CPL holder had bad judgment and luckily no innocent was harmed.

With all that being said, Detroit Free Press columnist Nancy "Know-Nothing" Kaffer couldn't resist form making some untrue gratuitous swipes at the NRA and gun owners in general:

How can you blame her?

When Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez shot at a fleeing shoplifter's tires in a Home Depot parking lot last week, she was only doing what she'd been told, time and again, from people like National Rifle Association chief Wayne LaPierre to presidential candidate Ben Carson: The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Or, I suppose, an alleged bad guy with what appeared to be stolen hardware goods.

Funny Nancy, the NRA has never advocated using deadly force to protect other person's property or stolen hardware goods.

Nor does Wayne LaPierre or Ben Carson saying truthfully that "The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." even apply here. After all the shoplifters were unarmed.

You're reaching quite a bit too far there Nancy.

The instructions CPL holders should receive in those classes contradict the vigilante ethos pushed by LaPierre, Carson and others, who have, in the wake of repeated school shootings, argue that if only more people were armed, the shooters could have been stopped.

Say Nancy, do you know who produces the most used class in Michigan for CPL instruction, including appropriate use of deadly force? That's right Nancy, your claimed pushers of the "vigilante ethos", The NRA.

The non-sequiturs flow fast and thick in this article. What exactly do in progress shootings in gun-free zones have to do with a lady improperly engaging a couple of fleeing shoplifters? Oh right, nothing at all except in Nancy's fevered mind.

Next up Nancy will be caliming that the American Automobile Association for advocating for highway funding is clearly trying to have people speed through red lights and steal cars. That follows just about as well.

But it's folly to think that any short training course could prepare a civilian to make the kind of life-and-death, in-the-moment decisions that sometimes stymie even highly trained law enforcement officers. Or that such training could hold in the heat of a tense moment. This narrative of necessary vigilantism places an unfair burden on private citizens.

My bet is Nancy thinks the average officer gets more training in use of force than they actually do. Indeed Nancy doesn't seem to consider the fact that trained CPL holders as a group tend to get it far more right than wrong in self-defense situations and commit fewer crimes than the average citizenry. Nor is there any "narrative of necessary vigilantism" but thanks for the concern trolling and making that up there Nancy.

The folly here is that Nancy has likely never taken a CPL class and knows not what she is talking about.

"It would have been much more helpful for (Duva-Rodriguez) to take out her cellphone and shoot pictures of the shoplifter’s license plate," Cooper said.

That's the truth. I wish someone had bothered to tell her.

I'm sure, assuming she did in fact take a legitimate CPL class, that her CPL class instructor and the attorney or law enforcement officer teaching the legal portion of her CPL class did indeed provide such an instruction and guidance. That she failed to heed it is on her as an individual and she will answer for it.

Nancy, however, to support her anti-gun narrative felt the need to take this example of one misguided CPL holder and use it to bash the NRA and Ben Carson with an article full of lies and non-sequiturs.

Michigan CPL Holder - 1 Bank Robber - 0

In Warren, Michigan, a Bank Robber chose the wrong bank to rob when a CPL holder stopped the robbery after the Robber pointed his gun at him.

The Detroit News: Customer shoots suspected bank robber in Warren

A suspected bank robber was injured Monday afternoon in Warren after he was shot by a customer carrying a concealed weapon.

The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. at the Citizen’s Bank on Timken near Van Dyke, said Warren Mayor Jim Fouts.

During the bank robbery, the 43-year-old male suspect pointed a gun at a 63-year-old male customer, Fouts said. The customer, who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon, then shot the suspect in both arms and one leg, injuring him.

“That caused him to drop the money,” Fouts said. “Police were able to retrieve it.”

From the description of events so far, it appears the CPL holder did everything right.

Nicely done.

Yet Another Detroit CPL Happy Ending

The Detroit News: Victim strikes back at would-be robbers in Detroit

Two robbers suffer from bad target selection trying to rob a man outside a bank who turned out to have a CPL.

It ends with two robbers shot and in custody, and with the defender injured in a non-life-threatening manner.

Yet another in a string of law abiding citizens with CPLs stopping criminals in Detroit.

No Special Favors - Macomb County Prosecutor Gets Same Citation As Anyone Else For A Minor CPL Violation

It's good to see that justice is administered evenhandedly even when the wrong-doer is a prosecutor himself.

The Detroit News: Assistant prosecutor cited for leaving gun at school

As can be seen from the link, he left a firearm in his jacket behind in a school, which is both a serious faux pas, and how he got caught carrying concealed in the school in violation of MCL 28.425(o).

Since schools in Michigan are no carry zones, he got the same citation anyone else would have earned for the first violation of carrying concealed in a no-carry zone, a fine of $500 and presumably (though not reported in the article) a suspension of his CPL for six months.

Now, setting aside the fact that you should always remain in possession of your firearm and not leave it anywhere an unauthorized person could get access to it which is not an acceptable thing to do, was there any real harm in a law-abiding person carrying a concealed firearm in a school had it not been inadvertently left there? Heck, had he not left his jacket behind would anyone had ever known that he had carried into the school in the first place?

The no-carry-zones need to be removed from the CPL law as they are both unnecessary for public safety and indeed imperil the public and individuals subject to these exclusions. But, while they are in effect, it is good to see that at least in Macomb County the law is administered impartially and without regard for the status of the law-breaker.

Kudos to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office and the Macomb Prosecutor's office for playing this one straight.

Kudos also go to the assistant prosecutor in question who didn't try to pull any "Do you know who I am?" games, and who manned up and admitted his mistake in leaving the firearm at the school and endeavored not to do it again in open court.