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Court: Gun boards can use juvenile offenses to reject permits

Michigan Court of Appeals
Mike Russell
/
Wikimedia Commons

The state Court of Appeals says a county concealed gun board did not exceed its authority when it denied a permit based on a man’s juvenile crime record.

Jameel Stephens says the Wayne County Concealed Weapons Board should not have rejected his request for a concealed pistol permit, because he was found guilty as a juvenile of breaking and entering.
    
Stephens argued that juvenile proceedings are supposed to be shielded from that sort of decision-making. He says they are also not, officially, criminal convictions.
    
Michigan is what’s called a “shall-issue” concealed gun state. That means gun boards must approve permit requests unless there is a clear reason to deny a person.
    
The Court of Appeals says state law clearly allows gun boards to deny concealed pistol permits to people found guilty of a juvenile offense – if that offense is a felony when an adult is charged. That would include breaking and entering.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987.
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