New definition of a pistol in Michigan

[Big Frank]

In Michigan any firearm under 30" used to be considered a pistol and needed to be registered as such. Whether it was a rifle, shotgun, or airgun, it didn't matter. One good example is the Mossberg 500 shotguns with a pistol grip and no stock. The 18 /12" barrel version was a pistol and you needed to get a purchase permit to buy it, then register it with local police within 10 days. But the 20" barrel Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip and o stock was just a shotgun. You could fill out a form 4473, pay and walk out with it. But I just found out this week that nothing over 26" is considered a pistol anymore. I  think it was 12 years ago that the law changed and I didn't know it. This si ghood news for me because I measured my shortest AR from the muzzle to the back of the lower, and measured my Dead Foot Arms folder, and it looks like the overall length is going to be about 26 1/8" when it's assembled. I'm cutting it close, but over 26" is still over, so I should be okay. I'll measure the lower when I get the folder on and measure the upper before I put them together to make sure I don't accidentally manufacture an SBR. The Quick Flip Stock I ordered from Samson Mfg. on the 15th is still pending. When I get that, I'll slap it all together.

Mike Cox, Attorney General from January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2011, wrote an opinion in 2005 that we can own machine guns in Michigan. Then in 2011, an opinion by new Attorney General Bill Schuette (January 1, 2011 – January 1, 2019) allowed the possession and transfer of suppressors in Michigan. And now Michigan doesn't prohibit the possession of tasers or stun guns by private citizens anymore. But they must have a concealed pistol license to conceal carry a stun gun or taser. A stun gun or taser is treated like a pistol., but no permit needed to buy it. Open carry is still allowed without a permit most places, but not if you're hanging around outside a prison. The Michigan Attorney General has released an opinion stating that open carry is not considered reasonable suspicion of a crime, but there are no Michigan court decisions definitively ruling on this point, and hardly anyone ever does it. You can go years between open carry sightings. Carrying in a vehicle requires a permit, and I believe this is still one of the more expensive states to get and maintain a CCW, CPL for concealed pistol license in Michigan. They made sure to specify it allows you to legally carry a pistol, not just any weapon you want to carry. I might occasionally carry a sword as a sidearm if the law allowed it, but I can't carry most of the pocket knives I see online. 

P.S. It also defines a firearm as expelling a projectile by force of an explosive. The exact words are in the image. It used to say by compressed gas and stuff too. Firearms used to include airguns larger than .177 caliber and airguns with rifled bores. So if you had a smoothbore BB gun it wasn't a firearm, but if it was rifled like the Drozd CO2-powered BB machine pistol, it was a firearm. I never could figure out why they put a rifled barrel on a gun that can't possibly use any kind of ammo but BBs, but try figuring out why Russians do any of the things they do.

P.P.S. A pen gun is a pistol now instead of being considered an AOW, IF you have to twist it around into a pistol shape. They were flat out illegal here like all NFA goodies. If it can fire while it's still in the shape of a pen, it's an NFA item no matter what state you live in. Penguins may not be legal to own, but I haven't looked into it. If I get a pen gun I'll paint it like a penguin. When people ask what the heck it is, I say it's a penguin pen gun.