COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – 8% of Branch County’s adult population had a license issued to carry a concealed pistol in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2014. That’s just about the average for Michigan, where the number is 7% in the issuance of CCW permits during that year.
The number of licenses approved in Branch County according to the latest annual report from the Michigan State Police was 558. That’s down from a peak of 730 the year before. That high water mark was achieved possibly in reaction to President Obama’s 2012 re-election and the fear that tighter gun regulations were on the way. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 2,300 CCW permits were issued in Branch County.
Going forward, some say it may be easier now to obtain a permit with the elimination last month of county gun boards in Michigan as of December 1, 2015. That responsibility now rests with County Clerks and the Michigan State Police who have taken over the processing of concealed weapon applications.
Statewide, Michigan has nearly a half million active concealed pistol licenses in a population of ten million people.
