MikeyP

Thu, Apr 11, 2013 : 12:57 p.m.

It's rather simple to understand just based on demographics. Most of the population in Washtenaw are in urban areas which have lower rates of firearms ownership vs. rural areas, while rural areas have lower crime (More Guns, Less Crime as it were). In order to obtain a CPL you need to pay to take a class (which costs around $100 if not more), take the class (8 hours), undergo background checks (going out to the Service Center to get fingerprinted), pay the fees to the state, etc. And all that's before you have to shell out $500 or so for a decent concealed-carry handgun. This pretty much rules out getting a CPL for the young and the urban poor (who don't have the money). The shame is that the urban poor are the very people who can most benefit from having CPLs, they're the primary violent crime targets. I have a CPL, have had it for years. I've also never been robbed, though. Ann Arbor is a safe community, one you have to pay a pretty penny to live in (which isn't a coincidence) but it's worth the cost IMHO. I could afford to take the class, pay the fees and buy a gun. That's what the gun control laws have wrought though... only the people with the lowest odds of being violent crime victims can really afford to get CPLs/guns. I'm a proponent of doing away with CPLs entirely and going the route of Alaska, Vermont and Arizona which have "Constitutional Carry"... you don't need a permit there to carry concealed. I'm also a proponent of eliminating gun-free zones (aka "free fire zones") but that's a bit too much common sense to expect anytime soon. I'm a crime analyst, it's part of my job to look at what works to deter crime. Armed law abiding citizens deter crime, there's no two-ways about it. It isn't the most important factor (the number of police in a given area is actually the most important factor) but it does have a positive effect... and is one of our inherent rights. That's a bit too spot-on for many of the denizens of this coun

G. Orwell

Thu, Apr 11, 2013 : 1:21 a.m.

70 MILLION background checks since Obama took office. People are getting it. I believe even democrats and liberals are packing these days. The elitist and politicians that want to disarm the public while they plan on keeping their semi-autos and armed body guards better not bite off more than they can chew. Gun owners are not going to put up with that crap.

Mike

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 11:50 p.m.

This is good to know if you're a burglar................

stevek

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 9:59 p.m.

Criminals don't bother with such things like permits. People who steal guns don't usually apply for a permit.

Jack Gladney

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 9:58 p.m.

Boy, was this one phoned in. The basis of this article is a 'report' (three brief paragraphs of in-depth analysis) in Bridge Magazine that begins the assertion that household gun ownership is on the decline in the US. That seems like a reasonable assumption to start with... If you live in a hole in the ground. The rest of the report like this article seems to be about concealed carry. I was chided yesterday as being someone expecting to find a byline from Woodward and Bernstein on annarbor.com. I continue to work on lowering my expectations.

walker101

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 8:21 p.m.

Funny as many shootings they have around here you'd think everyone is packing a 38 special, could of fooled me.

Goofus

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 8:18 p.m.

And our violent crime rate is low too...Imagine that!

motorcycleminer

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 6:50 p.m.

I love the " intellegent " sheeple don't own guns remarks ....thats because their so dumbed down as to believe that the wolves will actually protect them ....duh....

aduggs

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 6:25 p.m.

Complete rubbish. Intelligent gun owners do not tell others they own a gun, especially not to Gallup, which this article is citing. By the way, the FBI has reported 32 firearm background checks per minute over the last 4 years.

you can't handle the truth

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 5:05 p.m.

So you mean to tell me that all the gangbangers out there aren't following the proper licensing procedures? How can this be?

Bananagunz

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4:57 p.m.

What a horribly written article. And the only thing clear in these muddled lines is that the author knows very little about the subject in which she writes. Get some more data and then make a point. And learn the proper terminology. I guess I'd like to see the actual numbers of applicants of each county rather than knowing per capita numbers. Who cares if all eight people in Keneewa own guns? CPL numbers might also be interesting to compare against new applicants as well. I think using only applicants in one given year gives a very inaccurate snap shot of gun ownership in any county. Most of the gun owners I know in Washtenaw have been carrying their guns for years without applying for a thing; just a renewal of their CPL every few years. With all the gun issues out there you'd think A2.com could put out something a bit better.

Dog Guy

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4:50 p.m.

So many Washtenaw folks have a multifaceted government-dependency problem. Letting someone else carry a pistol to defend me is only one of a hundred personal failures common to living on tax money from birth to death. It is a wonderful system for me.

Major

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4:29 p.m.

More liberal media lies and deception, incorrect terminology and completely inaccurate reporting. Nothing new here! Shooting for 12 vote downs today, come libs you can do it!!

Brad

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4:10 p.m.

Here are the actual statistics. Draw your own conclusions. Looks to me like there are still roughly 10K people in Washtenaw County licences to pack. http://1.usa.gov/kjBsgh

Use Logic

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4:07 p.m.

It's a bit of a stretch to draw a correlation between urban vs. rural counties. Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb - the three most urban counties in the state - are right at the middle of the list. Genesee is on the top third. Where I do see a stronger correlation is in college counties - Ingham, Isabella, Kalamazoo, of course Washtenaw, and (to my previous point) Houghton are all on the bottom 10. That leads me to believe that age is more of a factor than anything.

Hunterjim

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4:07 p.m.

Wow what a poorly written article. The article cited was talking about the number of households who claim to have firearms has dropped. It does not make sense. Firearm sales nationally are at historic highs. Fewer people are admitting to anyone let alone law enforcement that they have firearms in their house, for obvious reasons, it's none of their business! MSP was stating that they can track the number of CPL permits issued per county not the number of LTP's issued. Very inaccurate information.

Cory C

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 4 p.m.

So what you're saying is that Washtenaw county has the highest number of applicants, but one of the lowest number of actual holders? Are we denying more people than other counties? Are there more unqualified people being turned down? Could I request that stories are researched more?

tdw

Wed, Apr 10, 2013 : 3:38 p.m.

I don't know what they mean.You don't need a permit ( you used to have to get a purchase permit for a handgun but no more as it was just redundant with the federally required background check )to own a handgun.All you have to do ( by state law ) is register it.I can buy one and register it in the U.P and bring it to Washtenaw County and it's totally legal. I now await all the thumbs down to come because I've stated facts