LANSING, Mich. – A new bill introduced in Michigan would make registering pistols optional.
House Bill 4554, introduced by Rep. Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, would also eliminate the $250 fine for not registering a handgun and would allow previously registered gun owners to be removed from the database.
Currently, a person must register a gun before they can carry, possess or transport it.
According to Chatfield, Michigan is one of six states that require that handguns be registered. He said there is no reason to maintain the database of law-abiding purchasers.
“Criminals don’t register handguns they misuse for wrong, so what we end up with is a list that intrudes on the civil liberties of honest gun owners exercising their constitutional right to defend their families,” Chatfield said.
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