Detroit. It’s a name that used to mean prosperity in the mind of the average American. After all, the big three U.S. auto makers were based there. It was a prosperous town and, by most reports, a great place to live.
Sadly, though, things have changed in Detroit. Sure, there are prosperous parts of the metro area, but Detroit has suffered a lot of economic hardship over the last several years, and this means that, sadly, more people are turning to crime.
Frankly, Detroit has become a much tougher town.
And to compound the situation, Detroit, like other struggling cities such as Baltimore and Chicago, seems to love gun control. Need an example? Here are some enlightening details from an article by Steve Curtis from 2013:
Note that each and every legal gun buyer in Michigan, and particularly Detroit, must be approved by the local police at least twice each and every time they purchase a gun and undergo a background check by the federal government.Â
As a result, Detroit has the second highest murder rate in the nation and is considered by many to be the most dangerous city in which to live in the United States. Simply put, gun control, as a means of controlling crime and protecting law abiding citizens, is a dismal failure.Â
“But that was 2013,” you say. “It could have changed in the last six years.”
And you’re right. It could have changed, but the evidence doesn’t seem to show that it has changed at all. Ross Jones fills us in from a piece from February of 2019:
At a time when the city touts the fastest response time to 911 calls in well more than a decade — 13 minutes for priority one calls — thousands of the most urgent calls to police each year still leave victims waiting 30 minutes or more for help. Hundreds wait longer than an hour. From 2017 to 2018, the number of calls waiting at least 30 minutes to receive a response swelled by more than 70%.
Now, let’s give credit where credit is due. An average response time of 13 minutes for priority calls is better than many places, but that doesn’t change the fact that when seconds count, police are minutes away. Even in the best response time situation, thirteen minutes is enough time for an active shooter to injure or kill another ten or twenty people or more.
And this is the thing that anti-gunners (like those who put Detroit’s insane gun purchase laws into effect) don’t get: when there is a threat, you need to have access to your gun right then. Because the criminal isn’t going to wait.
So, to repeat: the people of Detroit would be safer if they didn’t have to deal with crazy gun control laws so that they could more easily have their own guns.
Hey you idiot asshole mr.editor I lived in michigan all my life and never had to do that. Used to not even need s background check. Now its backgrond check and out the door with firearm. Your a true idiot.
The author of that 2013 article makes it seem as though it is, and has been difficult to legally obtain or possess a firearm in Michigan, especially Detroit. Not so at all. As I recall this has not been the case since firearm laws concerning individual concealed carry were loosened some years back. The State of Michigan, except for legislation of it’s actual gun laws seems about as disinterested in the purchase of firearms within its borders as one could hope for. It’s laws are almost always enforced by others. The fact is, that unless a resident of Detroit has no means of transportation to drive a few miles into the suburbs, statements made by the author about unusual restrictions are nonsense. I have lived in Michigan within 30 miles of Detroit all of my life, have purchased and owned dozens of firearms legally, with nearly all of them being internet purchases. I believe the difference with purchases in Detroit is not that residents cannot legally obtain firearms with reasonable ease, but that since their lunny tune laws took effect, the city now mercilessly punishes their firearm dealers with truly ignorant restrictions, driving residents out of the city to buy firearms and ammo. I cannot recall having undergone any unusual scrutiny whatever by local, state, or even federal authorities, and never any that delayed even for a minute the making a firearm purchase. There is always some paperwork and declarations required by the feds when I purchase a pistol through an FFL or a rifle from out of state but nothing at all restrictive. Pistol purchases are a bit more restrictive and are required to be registered with the county for their records but even that is not as burdensome as requirements that exist in other states. Private sales of rifles between private parties is completely unrestricted and requires no paperwork at all. Unlike within the Detroit city limits, I can purchase unlimited amounts of ammo by the case without restriction. Why would even a resident of Detroit make such a purchase within the city limits when they can drive a few miles out to a suburb and make an unrestricted purchase there? The only time I can recall ever having to wait for the results of a background check for anything firearm related is when I have to renew my CPL. The fact is, any resident of Detroit can go to the internet or drive outside of the city anywhere in Michigan to make a firearm or ammo purchase with no more restriction than in most the rest of the US. I would say this article seems to be making a mountain our of a mole hill, at least for now.
Your article appears to attempt to hit the bullseye but you hit the bull in the butt.
As previous commentors stated, purchasing a firearm from a dealer requires the usual ATF form 4473 and the NICS check unless you have a concealed pistol license which exempts the NICS check. Private sales of long guns do not require any paperwork. However, all pistol sales, private or dealer, require a pistol purchase permit to be completed between the parties. It is then required to be sent to the police department having jurisdiction over the purchaser of the pistol within 10 days.
Another clear flaw in your article is that does not even mention the fact that the Detroit chief of police has openly encouraged the residents to buy a gun to protect themselves. The problem the police have is the sleezeballs, lowlifes, gang members and other pillars of society keeping them very busy, so responses to calls are often delayed.
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