Universal background checks, license to purchase to be required for private gun sales in Michigan Tuesday

UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WLUC) - If you are considering buying a firearm at a gun show, a new law signed last April will add more steps to the process beginning Tuesday.

The bills aimed to address the issue of gun violence by implementing stricter regulations on firearm sales and storage. Under the new laws, all firearm sales will require a background check to be conducted on the buyer.

Additionally, a license to purchase will be required for all firearms, including rifles and shotguns during private sales like gun shows. A Concealed Pistol License (CPL) can take the place of the license to purchase.

But Negaunee Rod and Gun Club Board Member Robin Turner said there’s still confusion about private transactions between individual sellers at their own homes.

“I have heard several different theories about what is the appropriate course of action for an individual wanting to sell one of his personal firearms to somebody else,” Turner said. “Now, most cases it appears that it’s going to have to go through an FFL License holder.”

The Michigan State Police Firearms Records Unit explained there a some extra steps if a buyer does not have a CPL and wants to purchase from a private seller.

The buyer must go through a background check and get a license to purchase from a licensing authority. The seller must complete a license to purchase and a firearm sales record then provide a copy to the purchaser.

If the buyer has a CPL, the license to purchase is not required.

Unless the firearm is a pistol then a copy of the license and a firearm sales record has to be submitted by the seller to their police department or sheriff’s office within ten days.

With the new laws, Federal Firearm License holders will still need to conduct background checks for all buyers, unless a license to purchase has been provided. In addition, the seller must still complete the license to purchase and firearm sales record with the firearm’s information and provide a copy to the purchaser.

The law will put new responsibilities on the seller.

If the firearm is a pistol, a copy of the license and the sale record have to be submitted by the seller to their police department or sheriff’s office within ten days.

Marquette County Undersheriff Daniel Willey expects to see more people stopping by the sheriff’s office to get a license to purchase. He said this process is nothing new.

“I think it’s going to be manageable. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. For the State of Michigan, we’ve had the process for a long time, before they changed some of the laws, where you had to come in and get a permit to purchase anyway. We’re used to doing that type of thing,” said Willey.

Willey said if there are people not sure what to do, the sheriff’s office is available.

“The people that work in the front office deal with this all of time. We will find the answer out for you, how you can legally obtain the gun and get it put in your name,” added Willey.

Click here to learn more about Michigan’s extreme risk protection orders or “red flag laws.”