Flint Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyer - Gun Charges
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Gun Laws & Charges
Article 1, section 6, of the Michigan Constitution states that “Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state,” and there has been relatively little legal debate over the intent or purpose of Michigan's constitutional language. This is in sharp contrast to the diverse opinion about the meaning of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, (“. . . the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”), but nevertheless, the issue of firearms regulation in Michigan has been the focus of heated debate in recent years.
Both federal and state law regulate the purchase and use of firearms. Federal law primarily focuses on the sale of firearms by licensed gun dealers. For example, federal law
- requires gun manufacturers, distributors, and dealers to hold a federal firearms license (FFL);
- prohibits FFL holders from selling a handgun to someone aged under 21 or a rifle or shotgun to someone aged under 18;
- prohibits the private sale of a handgun to someone aged under 18;
- prohibits importation of small, poor-quality handguns (so-called Saturday night specials) and some foreign assault weapons;
- prohibits production of certain assault weapons and magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition (however, it is not illegal to own or sell pre-1994 weapons and magazines);
- prohibits the manufacture, import, or sale of fully automatic machine guns (however, it is not illegal to own/sell pre-1986 weapons); and
- prohibits anyone aged under 18 from possessing a handgun or ammunition suitable only for a handgun; and
- prohibits certain categories of people—convicted felons, fugitives from justice, subjects of restraining orders, or those convicted of domestic violence—from possessing guns.
Compliance with the last provision listed above occurs through the FBI's National Instant Check System (NICS). FFL holders are prohibited from selling any gun without performing the NICS background check. According to a February 2000 report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the background-check system prevented purchases by prohibited persons about 180,000 times during its first year of operation (1999). The NICS system applies only to sales by FFL holders, however. A sale by any other person (e.g., unlicensed seller, individual owner) in any venue (e.g., garage sale, gun show, private residence) does not require a background check.
While federal law focuses on the sale of firearms by licensed dealers, Michigan laws regulate their sale, possession, and use by individuals. In Michigan,
- selling automatic weapons is prohibited;
- rifles and shotguns may not be sold to someone aged under 18;
- selling armor-piercing ammunition is prohibited;
- selling or using hardware to convert a semiautomatic weapon to fully automatic is illegal;
- discharging a firearm from a vehicle is prohibited;
- handguns may be purchased only if a permit is granted by a local police agency and the applicant has passed a background check;
- anyone convicted of committing a crime with a firearm is subject to an additional penalty of two years in prison without opportunity of early parole;
- schools must expel students who possess a weapon, including a firearm, on school property;
- discharging a firearm within a public right-of-way, in cemeteries, or on farm property without the consent of the farm's owner is prohibited; and
- carrying a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance or alcohol is prohibited.
Michigan's firearm laws are relatively strict: In March 2000, the Open Society Institute (New York) published “Gun Control in the United States: A Comparative Survey of State Gun Laws,” ranking the 50 states on the stringency of their laws concerning ownership, possession, sale, and transfer of guns. Michigan ranks 14th among the 50 states in the strictness of its gun laws. Using a scale on which 0 equates to consistency with federal law, negative numbers indicate more leniency than federal law, and positive numbers indicate more strictness than federal law, Michigan scores 15. Massachusetts is most strict, with a score of 76, and Maine most lenient, with a score of –10. The national average is 9.
Of the 669 murders committed in Michigan in 2000, firearms were used in 474: handguns in 231, rifles in 19, and shotguns in 24 (the remainder were not classified by firearm type). By age of victim, 258 were 25–39, 174 were 17–24, and 40 were 16 and younger. By race of victim, 185 were Caucasian, 463 were African-American, and two were of Asian or Pacific descent (the remainder were not identified by race).
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