NRA Files Challenge To Michigan’s Unjust Licensing Requirement For Gun Purchases
NRA Files Challenge To Michigan’s Unjust Licensing Requirement For Gun Purchases
Michigan’s punitive law that generally requires individuals who do not possess a Michigan Concealed Pistol License to obtain a government-issued License to Purchase (“LTP”) before they can buy, possess, carry, or transport a pistol is the topic of a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
On June 14, the National Rifle Association, Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, Michigan Gun Owners, Michigan Open Carry, and four NRA members filed Moser v. Nessel — naming Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel as the lead defendant — challenging the Great Lakes State’s firearm license-to-purchase and registration regime.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking to have the firearm registration statutes declared unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. They are also asking the court to permanently block enforcement of the law and order the destruction of firearm ownership records collected under the registration scheme.
Michigan doesn’t just require a permit — it builds a state firearms registry
The law not only requires people who do not possess a Michigan Concealed Pistol License to obtain a government-issued License to Purchase (“LTP”) before they may purchase, possess, carry, or transport a pistol, but also requires transaction records to be submitted to government authorities for entry into a statewide database maintained by the Michigan State Police.
That database functions as a de facto state firearms registry — exactly the kind of government tracking system gun-rights advocates have been fighting at the federal level for decades, replicated at the state level under the cover of “licensing” requirements. Michigan’s LTP regime has been on the books since 1927, and the registration component has drawn gun-rights opposition for decades. The lawsuit comes alongside parallel legislative efforts by Michigan Republicans to establish constitutional carry in the state, attacking the broader framework on two fronts simultaneously.