6.9Michigan Restrictions on Issuing Firearms Licenses to Dangerous or Mentally Ill Individuals
The Michigan firearm licensing and concealed pistol licensing statutes each disqualify from licensure individuals who are deemed dangerous to themselves or others. See MCL 28.422(3); MCL 28.425b(7).
A firearm license must be issued to a qualified applicant1 unless the agency or individual issuing the license “has 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 firearm that would violate a law of this or another state or of the United States.” MCL 28.422(3).
A concealed pistol license must not be issued to an applicant if the county clerk determines:
•“Based solely on the report received from the department of state police under [MCL 28.425b(6)2], the applicant has . . . been found guilty but mentally ill of any crime [or] has . . . offered a plea of not guilty of, or been acquitted of, any crime by reason of insanity.” MCL 28.425b(7)(j).
•“Based solely on the report received from the department of state police under [MCL 28.425b(6)], the applicant is . . . currently [or] has . . . been subject to an order of involuntary commitment in an inpatient or outpatient setting due to mental illness.” MCL 28.425b(7)(k).
•“The applicant has [not] filed a statement under [MCL 28.425b(1)(d) stating] that the applicant does not have a diagnosis of mental illness that includes an assessment that the individual presents a danger to the applicant or to another at the time the application is made, regardless of whether the applicant is receiving treatment for that illness.” MCL 28.425b(7)(l).3
•“Based solely on the report received from the department of state police under [MCL 28.425b(6)], the applicant is . . . under a court order of legal incapacity in this state or elsewhere.” MCL 28.425b(7)(m).
MCL 28.425b(11) requires “the county clerk [to] send by first-class mail a notice of statutory disqualification for a license under this act to an individual if the individual is not qualified under [MCL 28.425b(7)] to receive that license.”
1 See MCL 28.422(3), which provides for a list of the circumstances an applicant must meet in order to obtain a firearm license.
2 MCL 28.425b(6) requires “the department of state police [to] verify the requirements of [MCL 28.425b(7)(d)], [MCL 28.425b(7)(e)], [MCL 28.425b(7)(f)], [MCL 28.425b(7)(h)], [MCL 28.425b(7)(i)], [MCL 28.425b(7)(j)], [MCL 28.425b(7)(k)], and [MCL 28.425b(7)(m)] through the law enforcement information network [(LEIN)] and the national instant criminal background check system [(NICS)] and [to] report to the county clerk all statutory disqualifications, if any, under this act that apply to an applicant.”
3 For a complete list of eligibility requirements an individual is required to satisfy in order to receive a concealed pistol license, see MCL 28.425b(7).