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Detroit Sees Rise in Legal Gun Ownership

Detroit police chief's call to arms credited

Firearms / AP
August 25, 2015

Over the last year and a half, the city of Detroit has registered more than 1,500 new handgun permits and 13,000 guns.

The city issued 1,169 new handgun permits and registered 8,102 guns in 2014 and issued 500 permits while registering 5,000 guns thus far in 2015, according to a Fox News report. The new permits and registered firearms come after Detroit Chief of Police James Craig called on law abiding residents to arm themselves.

"I say that because of my experience now in my fourth city, seeing good Americans, good Detroiters that have CCWs, and what effect that has had on deterring violent crime," Craig told MLive in early 2014. "Given what I saw coming into the door her in Detroit, the fact that the city has been (touted) as one of the most violent cities in America ... we still have incident after incident where individuals like elderly people get dragged out of their cars at gunpoint."

Local gun advocates have noticed the difference Craig has made.

"There’s definitely been a ‘Chief Craig’ effect," Detroit resident and NRA certified instructor Rick Ector told Fox News. "His support and endorsement has been helpful."

Many in the city said they consider their firearms life-savers.

"I never leave home without my weapon," Detroit native Darrell Standberry told Fox. "You never know when or what you’ll encounter."

Standberry said his firearm saved his life when he shot an armed robber as he tried to steal his car at a gas station on Six Mile Road. "I saw him pulling out his gun to shoot me," he told the news station. "So I pulled my gun out and shot him."

Detroit has seen a number of gun defense cases in the past year. In early June an armed woman was able to fight off five home invaders in the city and another was able to fight off armed carjackers.

"Home invasions have gone down," Ector told Fox News. "A huge reason was that there was a huge spate of homeowners using their guns against intruders. More people have guns and it’s making burglars cautious."