NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Michigan’s License-to-Purchase Regime

The National Rifle Association, Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, Michigan Gun Owners, Michigan Open Carry, and four NRA members filed a lawsuit challenging Michigan’s firearm license-to-purchase and registration regime.

Michigan law generally requires individuals who do not possess a Michigan Concealed Pistol License to obtain a government-issued License to Purchase (“LTP”) before they may purchase, possess, carry, or transport a pistol. The law further requires transaction records to be submitted to government authorities for entry into a statewide database maintained by the Michigan State Police.

The complaint argues that Michigan’s LTP regime violates the Second Amendment under the Supreme Court’s text-and-history test set forth in the NRA’s landmark case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. In Bruen, the Court held that firearm regulations must be consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation and that licensing schemes cannot be administered in an abusive or discretionary manner.

The complaint asserts that Michigan’s licensing scheme is both abusive and discretionary. The regime forces law-abiding citizens to obtain a redundant government-issued permit before exercising a constitutional right, even though federal law already requires background checks for firearm purchases from licensed dealers. It also authorizes denials based on subjective predictions of future dangerousness and lacks meaningful procedural safeguards or a statutory appeals process, resulting in arbitrary and inconsistent outcomes across jurisdictions. Additionally, Michigan’s transaction-reporting and database requirements linking specific firearms to individual owners amount to a firearm registration system unsupported by the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.

The case, Moser v. Nessel, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights, and please visit www.nraila.org/litigation to keep up to date on NRA-ILA’s ongoing litigation efforts.