I thought I would start off my series, Outdoor Intentions, with something that I think every person in the world is entitled too: Personal Protection. I wanted to start out the series with the #1 outdoor aspiration and intention on my list:

Acquiring my CCW(Concealed Carry Weapon) permit.

Michigan, since July 2001 has been a “shall issue” state. What that means, in simple terms, is that the local gun boards will issue the permit as long as the applicant meets a certain set of established criteria. This changed from the previous “may issue” policy that required the applicant to establish that he/she was qualified for the permit and also had a good reason to fear injury or death.

I had been thinking about getting my CCW permit for the last couple of years and just haven’t gotten around to do it. The requirements now to acquire the permit are not very hard, but do require some time and some cash. The basic steps to getting the permit are simple.

You pick up an application at a local police station, sheriff’s office, or county clerk’s office.

Then you participate in a local pistol training course that must be certified by the state, a national firearms training organization, or a state firearms training organization. The training must be held by a certified instructor and is available at many local shooting ranges and conversation clubs.

You then submit your application, that must be accompanied by your copy of certificate completion from the pistol training course.

You pay a fee of $105 and have your fingerprints taken. The fingerprints are then forwarded to the Michigan State Police for processing.

Once the local gun board receives the fingerprint comparison report, they will issue or deny the permit within 45 days.

Once you receive your permit you are then permitted to carry a concealed weapon wherever you see fit, with a few exceptions obviously. I won’t go into all the places where you cannot carry a concealed weapon in Michigan, but a few examples include churches, schools, etc. Many states also recognize Michigan’s CCW permit in there state. I won’t bother to list them all, but there are many states that recognize Michigan’s CCW permit. Michigan also recognizes permits from every other state in the U.S.

There are also safeguards in place that prevent anyone who is convicted of certain criminal offenses, or has been diagnosed with certain mental conditions, from acquiring a permit. Also any alcohol related offenses will prevent you from receiving your permit. I think those things are in place for very obvious reasons and are a very good idea.

I think that acquiring my CCW will provide some piece of mind and some added protection for those certain moments when force is or maybe needed. So many people ask why I need a CCW permit. I think the more important question is why not? Why would a person not want to be able to protect themselves by any means possible? Why would a person not put themselves in a better position to protect their family, home, and belongings if the need arose?

I look forward to getting my permit and excercising my god given right to carry and protect my family and belongings!

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