03/09/2026
From club president Chad King regarding the Constitutional Carry proposal introduced in Michigan:
House Bills 5653 through 5657 were introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives this week. Taken together, these proposals would make Michigan the 30th constitutional carry state if enacted. While the bills may pass the House, they are unlikely to pass the State Senate in its current composition. One compromise the Senate should consider is eliminating the Concealed Pistol License application fee.
As it stands, we do not require a test or permit to exercise any other enumerated right in the Bill of Rights. Our country has already seen what happens when government imposes tests and fees on fundamental rights. Literacy tests and poll taxes were used to deny Black Americans the right to vote. Those policies were intentionally discriminatory from the start.
Michigan's own fi****ms history is not immune from that context. The Fi****ms Act of 1927 has roots intertwined with racial tension. Though not explicitly written as such, it is more than coincidental that the law passed soon after Dr. Ossian Sweet and his family were acquitted for defending themselves against a racist mob in Detroit.
There is a striking irony in the present moment. On one hand, there are active efforts - both federally and within some states like Michigan - to shrink access to the ballot box. On the other, there is a Supreme Court case seeking to expand access to the Second Amendment and a state proposal that would do the same in Michigan. As Frederick Douglass observed, the ballot box and the cartridge box are inextricably linked.
I do have concerns about permitless carry. As a fi****ms instructor and as a regular citizen who owns fi****ms, I know that some people are not prepared for the responsibility that comes with carrying one. Some individuals should absolutely take a class before considering it. Others may lack the temperament or discernment necessary to carry at all.
Even so, I am not opposed to constitutional carry. Public policy should complement personal responsibility. Fundamental rights should be accessible to all people, not restricted by unnecessary barriers. Rights and freedom should expand, not contract. That includes access to the ballot box and access to the most effective tools for lawful self-defense.
