Once more, using an emergency - actual or contrived - to infringe on a Constitutionally protected (both state and US Constitutions) right.
First, an emergency that results in diminished law enforcement services, as has been the case during the pandemic, DEMANDS that citizens have INCREASED ability to protect themselves.
Second, setting aside the Constitutional considerations, the decision of county clerks to refuse to process cpl applications is a violation of Michigan law, MCL 123.1102, “A local unit of government shall not impose special taxation on, enact or enforce any ordinance or regulation pertaining to, or regulate in any other manner the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols, other firearms, or pneumatic guns, ammunition for pistols or other firearms, or components of pistols or other firearms, except as otherwise provided by federal law or a law of this state.” A clerk may not unilaterally set aside state firearms laws, regardless of their motivation for doing so.
Third, Whitmer’s argument that cpl applications somehow require in-person interactions that endanger clerks and their staffs is disingenuous. The entire process can be accomplished online, research can be conducted remotely. Anyone with a computer or a smartphone, including the so-called “Obama phones”, can complete the application process without ever darkening the door of a clerk’s office; the cpl is mailed to the applicant upon completion.
Whitmer’s veto is without any basis in fact. It represents an effort to enact a de facto “may issue” standard using an emergency as pretext.
