800k Michiganders (~8%) are licensed to carry a concealed pistol
A CPL holder is subjected to federal and state background checks every five years
800k Michiganders (~8%) are licensed to carry a concealed pistol
Michigan has been a CPL "shall issue" state since 2000
A CPL holder is subjected to federal and state background checks every five years
800k Michiganders (~8%) are licensed to carry a concealed pistol
A CPL holder is subjected to federal and state background checks every five years
A CPL holder is subjected to federal and state background checks every five years
CPL holders are convicted of crimes at a lower rate than law enforcement and the general public
CPL holders are convicted of crimes at a lower rate than law enforcement and the general public
CPL holders are convicted of crimes at a lower rate than law enforcement and the general public
CPL holders are convicted of crimes at a lower rate than law enforcement and the general public
Average annual defensive use of firearms estimated between 50k and 2M
CPL holders are convicted of crimes at a lower rate than law enforcement and the general public
Average annual defensive use of firearms estimated between 50k and 2M
CPL Population
Michigan population: 10,034,113 (2022, estimated)
- MI population over 21: 7,531,872 (2022, estimated)
Grand Rapids metro area population: 1,091,620 (2021, estimated)
- GR metro area population over 21: 819,399 (assuming proportional age distribution)
- The US Census defines the "Grand Rapids-Kentwood Metropolitan Statistical Area" as the combined counties of: Kent, Ottawa, Montcalm, and Ionia.
Total active CPL Holders in Michigan: 799,564 (March 2023)
GR Metro Area: 65,069
- Kent: 33,884
- Ottawa: 19,805
- Montcalm: 6,069
- Ionia: 5,311
~10.6% of age-allowed Michigan adults are active holders of CPLs.
~7.94% of age allowed Greater Grand Rapids area adults are active holders of CPLs.
[1]
Background Checks
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System
"The NICS conducts background checks on people who want to own a firearm or explosive, as required by law."
This is the background check that is run every single time somebody purchases a firearm from a Federal Firearm Licensee (FFL), casually known as a "gun store".
A similar check is also performed by Michigan State Police while a CPL application is under review.
Michigan State Police Background Check
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System
The MSP runs its own state-level background check, covering arrests, convictions, orders, and other situations that the NICS is not privy to. This is akin to the additional background checks that states which are more firearm-restrictive run during regular firearm sales.
Fingerprinting
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System
Fingerprinting
A CPL applicant must voluntarily provide the state of Michigan with his or her fingerprints -- regardless of whether the state already has them from a prior arrest -- in order to be issued a CPL.
Defensive Gun Use (DGU)
Bottom Line Up Front
The number of DGUs per year in the United States is very difficult to estimate. Still, from varying academic sources of quite different predispositions (pro-gun-control vs. pro-permissive-gun-ownership), we get a fairly wide potential range.
~50k DGUs/yr at the low end
~2M DGUs/yr at the high end
Middle-ground projections lie in the 100k-200k range
Why the uncertainty?
Much of the difficulty arises from defining a DGU to be counted:
- Do you consider gun-use against animals? (e.g. ambushed on a hike)
- Must the firearm be discharged?
- Do you count brandishing?
- How do you include situations in which no police report was filed and no person was hospitalized or killed?
Discussion
A great, short synopsis of much of the disparity among estimates can be found on the Wikipedia article discussing Defensive Gun Use.
The most famous "2.1 million DGUs per year" stat comes from a 1995 study by Florida State professors Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. They aggregated the data from several national surveys in order to reach this number. [6]
On the other end, David Hemenway -- a gun-control advocate and researcher of gun violence -- accuses Kleck and Gertz of including too many false positives in their estimates. He estimates the number to be closer to 80k. [7]
Numbers and Considerations
Annual firearm deaths across the US: ~45k
- Homicide: ~20k
- Suicide: ~ 25k
Annual DGUs (most critical, low-end): ~50k
Note:
The numbers for firearms deaths are easy to count and recent (within 1-2 years).
The academic estimates are >20 years old, and since then:
- The US population has grown > 50M
- More guns are owned by more people
At the lowest end, DGUs occur at a rate higher than guns are used to kill. That's not even considering the fact that overall "gun deaths" (gun homicides) in the US include "justified gun homicide", which would fall under DGU.
At middle-of-the-road estimates, DGUs occur at a rate higher than guns are used in crime.