More Women Packing Concealed Handguns in Michigan

Friday, November 30, 2007
More women pack heat
Safety fears spark jump in concealed weapons permits
Darren A. Nichols and Iveory Perkins / The Detroit News

. . . . They fell for years among women as well, but are rising again. Women may set a record for statewide applications this year, and they're flooding ranges and prompting Wayne County and other training facilities to host "women-only" permit classes.

Bunch and other women remain the vast majority of the state's 150,000 who legally carry concealed weapons, but their ranks have jumped from 10 percent of permit-holders in 2001 to 17 percent this year. Women are on pace to receive nearly 4,100 permits this year, close to double that in 2003. . . . .

Michigan's rate for women seems low compared to other states, but it is rising quickly. It would be interesting to try to explain why there is the difference across states in the rate that women carry concealed handguns.