Michigan House Bill 4774 would
require licenses for all firearms
purchases in the state. The
requirement currently applies to
handguns only, but the proposal
extends the law to
rifles and shotguns. Handgun
registration is still required.
Here are the relevant parts of the
Bill.
“THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN
ENACT:
Sec. 2. (1) Except as otherwise
provided in this act, a person
shall not purchase, carry, possess,
or transport a pistol firearm
in this state without first having
obtained a license for the
(2) A person who brings a pistol firearm into this state who
is on leave from active duty with
the armed forces of the United
States or who has been discharged
from active duty with the armed
forces of the United States shall
obtain a license for the pistol
firearm within 30 days after his or her arrival in this state.
(3) The commissioner or chief of
police of a city, township,
or village police department that
issues licenses to purchase,
carry, possess, or transport pistols,
firearms, or his or
her duly
authorized deputy, or the sheriff or
his or her duly authorized
deputy, in the parts of a county not
included within a city,
township, or village having an
organized police department, in
discharging the duty to issue
licenses shall with due speed and
diligence issue licenses to
purchase, carry, possess, or transport
probable cause to believe that the
applicant would be a threat to
himself or herself or to other
individuals, or would commit an
offense with the pistol firearm that would violate a law of
this or
another state or of the United
States…”
“(4) Applications for licenses under
this section shall be
signed by the applicant under oath
upon forms provided by the
director of the department of state
police. Licenses to purchase,
carry, possess, or transport pistols
firearms shall be
executed in
triplicate upon forms provided by
the director of the department of
state police and shall be signed by
the licensing authority. Three
copies of the license shall be delivered
to the applicant by the
licensing authority. A license is
void unless used within 30 days
after the date it is issued.
(5) If an individual purchases or
otherwise acquires a pistol,
firearm, the seller shall fill out the license forms describing the
sign his or her name in ink
indicating that the pistol firearm
was
sold to or otherwise acquired by the
purchaser. The purchaser shall
also sign his or her name in ink
indicating the purchase or other
acquisition of the pistol firearm from the seller. The seller
may
retain a copy of the license as a
record of the transaction. The
purchaser shall receive 2 copies of
the license. The If the
firearm
is a
pistol, the purchaser shall return 1 copy of the
license to
the licensing authority within 10
days after the date the pistol is
purchased or acquired. The return of
the copy to the licensing
authority may be made in person or
may be made by first-class mail
or certified mail sent within the
10-day period to the proper
address of the licensing authority.
A purchaser who fails to comply
with the requirements of this
subsection is responsible for a state
civil infraction and may be fined
not more than $250.00. If a
purchaser is found responsible for a
state civil infraction under
this subsection, the court shall
notify the department of state
police of that determination.
(6) Within 10 days after receiving
the license copy for a
pistol returned under subsection (5), the licensing authority shall
electronically enter the information
into the pistol entry database
as required by the department of
state police if it has the ability
to electronically enter that
information. If the licensing
authority does not have that
ability, the licensing authority shall
provide that information to the
department of state police in a
manner otherwise required by the
department of state police. Any
licensing authority that provided
pistol descriptions to the
department of state police under
former section 9 of this act shall
continue to provide pistol
descriptions to the department of state
police under this subsection. Within
48 hours after entering or
otherwise providing the information
on the license copy returned
under subsection (5) to the
department of state police, the
licensing authority shall forward
the copy of the license to the
department of state police. The
purchaser has the right to obtain a
copy of the information placed in
the pistol entry database under
this subsection to verify the
accuracy of that information. The
licensing authority may charge a fee
not to exceed $1.00 for the
cost of providing the copy. The
licensee may carry, use, possess,
and transport the pistol for 30 days
beginning on the date of
purchase or acquisition only while
he or she is in possession of
his or her copy of the license.
However, the person is not required
to have the license in his or her
possession while carrying, using,
possessing, or transporting the
pistol after this period.
(7) This section does not apply to
the purchase of pistols
firearms from wholesalers by dealers regularly engaged in the
business of selling pistols firearms at retail, or to the sale,
barter, or exchange of pistols firearms kept as relics or curios
not made for modern ammunition or
permanently deactivated. This
section does not prevent the
transfer of ownership of pistols
firearms that are inherited if the license to purchase is approved
by the commissioner or chief of
police, sheriff, or their
authorized deputies, and signed by
the personal representative of
the estate or by the next of kin
having authority to dispose of the
(8) An individual who is not a
resident of this state is not
required to obtain a license under
this section if all of the
following conditions apply:
(a) The individual is licensed in
his or her state of
residence to purchase, carry, or
transport a pistol.firearm.
(b) The individual is in possession
of the license described
in subdivision (a).
(c) The individual is the owner of
the pistol firearm he
or
she possesses, carries, or
transports.
(d) The individual possesses the pistol
firearm for a lawful
purpose. as that term is defined in section 231a of the
Michigan
(e) The individual is in this state
for a period of 180 days
or less and does not intend to
establish residency in this state.
(9) An individual who is a nonresident
of this state shall
present the license described in
subsection (8)(a) upon the demand
of a police officer. An individual
who violates this subsection is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by imprisonment for not more
than 90 days or a fine of not more
than $100.00, or both.
10) The licensing authority may
require a person claiming
active duty status with the United
States armed forces to provide
proof of 1 or both of the following:
(a) The person's home of record.
(b) Permanent active duty assignment
in this state.
(11) This section does not apply to
a person who is younger
than the age required under
subsection (3)(b) and who possesses a
(a) The person is not otherwise
prohibited from possessing
that pistol.firearm.
(b) The person is at a recognized
target range.
(c) The person possesses the pistol
firearm for the
purpose of
target practice or instruction in
the safe use of a pistol.firearm.
(d) The person's parent or guardian
is physically present and
supervising the person.
(e) The owner of the pistol firearm is physically present.
(12) This section does not apply to
a person who possesses a
(a) The person is not otherwise
prohibited from possessing a
(b) The person is at a recognized
target range or shooting
facility.
(c) The person possesses the pistol
firearm for the
purpose of
target practice or instruction in
the safe use of a pistol.firearm.
(d) The owner of the pistol firearm is physically present and
supervising the use of the pistol.firearm.
(13) A person who forges any matter
on an application for a
license under this section is guilty
of a felony, punishable by
imprisonment for not more than 4
years or a fine of not more than
$2,000.00, or both.
(14) A licensing authority shall
implement this section during
all of the licensing authority's
normal business hours and shall
set hours for implementation that
allow an applicant to use the
license within the time period set
forth in subsection
(4).Sec. 2a.
(1) The following individuals are
not required to
obtain a license under section 2 to
purchase, carry, possess, use,
or transport a pistol:firearm:
(a) An individual licensed under
section 5b.
(b) A federally licensed firearms
dealer.
(c) An individual who purchases a pistol
firearm from a
federally licensed firearms dealer
in compliance with 18 USC
922(t).
(d) An
individual purchasing a firearm other
than a
pistol who
has a
federal national instant criminal
background
check performed
on him or
her by a federally licensed
firearms
dealer not more than
30 days
before the purchase.
(2) If an individual described in
subsection (1) purchases or
otherwise acquires a pistol, firearm, the seller shall complete
a
record in triplicate on a form
provided by the department of state
police. The record shall include the
purchaser's concealed weapon
license number or, if the purchaser
is a federally licensed
firearms dealer, his or her dealer
license number. If the purchaser
is not licensed under section 5b and
is not a federally licensed
firearms dealer, the record shall
include the dealer license number
of the federally licensed firearms
dealer who is selling the
the
federally licensed firearms dealer that
performed
the federal national
instant
criminal background check.
The purchaser shall sign the
record. The seller may retain 1 copy
of the record. The purchaser
shall receive 2 copies of the record
and, if the firearm is a
pistol, forward 1 copy to the police department of the city,
village, or township in which the
purchaser resides, or, if the
purchaser does not reside in a city,
village, or township having a
police department, to the county
sheriff, within 10 days following
the purchase or acquisition. The
return of the copy to the police
department or county sheriff may be
made in person or may be made
by first-class mail or certified
mail sent within the 10-day period
to the proper address of the police
department or county sheriff. A
purchaser who fails to comply with
the requirements of this
subsection is responsible for a
state civil infraction and may be
fined not more than $250.00. If a
purchaser is found responsible
for a state civil infraction under
this subsection, the court shall
notify the department of state
police. If the purchaser is licensed
under section 5b, the court shall
notify the licensing authority of
that determination.
(3) Within 10 days after receiving
the record copy for a
pistol returned under subsection (2), the police department or
county sheriff shall electronically
enter the information into the
pistol entry database as required by
the department of state police
if it has the ability to
electronically enter that information. If
the police department or county
sheriff does not have that ability,
the police department or county
sheriff shall provide that
information to the department of
state police in a manner otherwise
required by the department of state
police. Any police department
or county sheriff that provided
pistol descriptions to the
department of state police under
former section 9 of this act shall
continue to provide pistol
descriptions to the department of state
police under this subsection. Within
48 hours after entering or
otherwise providing the information
on the record copy returned
under subsection (2) to the
department of state police, the police
department or county sheriff shall
forward the copy of the record
to the department of state police.
The purchaser has the right to
obtain a copy of the information
placed in the pistol entry
database under this subsection to
verify the accuracy of that
information. The police department
or county sheriff may charge a
fee not to exceed $1.00 for the cost
of providing the copy. The
purchaser may carry, use, possess,
and transport the pistol for 30
days beginning on the date of
purchase or acquisition only while he
or she is in possession of his or
her copy of the record. However,
the person is not required to have
the record in his or her
possession while carrying, using,
possessing, or transporting the
pistol after this period.
(4) This section does not apply to a
person or entity exempt
under section 2(7).
(5) An individual who makes a
material false statement on a
sales record under this section is
guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment for not more than 4
years or a fine of not more than
$2,500.00, or both...”
