Burge, 092567 MIAGO, AGO 4440

Case DateSeptember 25, 1967
CourtMichigan
Honorable Donald A. Burge
AGO 4440
No. 4440
Michigan Attorney General Opinion
September 25, 1967
         PISTOLS: Purchase License; Exceptions, Under Section 2 of Act 372, Public Acts of 1927 as amended, license is not required for retail purchase of pistols of ancient design, where such pistols, though being currently manufactured, are not made for modern ammunition.          Within the exceptions provision of said Section 2, the requirement "not made for modern ammunition" applies to "relics" and "curios" as well as to "antiques."          Honorable Donald A. Burge          Prosecuting Attorney          Kalamazoo County          County Building          Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006                    I herewith reply to your request for my opinion interpreting Section 2 of Act 372, Public Acts of 1927 as amended, particularly as applied to pistols which, though currently manufactured in sizeable volume, are of ancient design and not made for modern ammunition.          From your letter I understand that quantities of muzzle loading pistols, newly manufactured but of ancient design (flintlock, percussion cap, etc.), have been offered for sale in your county. They are not made for modern ammunition.          Subject Section 2 of Act 372, Public Acts of 1927 as amended (M.S.A. 1965 Cum, Supp. § 28.92 et seq.; C.L. 1948, § 28.422 et seq.), after first stating, among other requirements, that "No person shall purchase a pistol without first having obtained a license therefor as prescribed herein....." thereafter declares the following exception:
"... The provisions of this section shall not apply to the purchase of pistols from wholesalers by dealers regularly engaged in the business of selling pistols at retail, nor to the sale, barter, or exchange of pistols kept solely as relics, curios, or antiques not made for modern ammunition or permanently deactivated. . ." (Emphasis added.)
         Precisely considered therefor, our question is whether such pistols require licensing under the general provisions of Section 2, or fall within the quoted exception. This of course involves construction of the statutory language of said exception.          The object of statutory construction is to ascertain and carry into effect the intention of the legislature. Elba Township v. Gratiot, 287 Mich. 372 (1939); Smith v. City Commissioner-of Grand Rapids, 281 Mich. 235 (1937).          From Act 372 it is inferable that the basic concern of the Legislature here was with pistols having a real potential for unlawful use. This impression of general legislative intent is borne out by the following language of the exception:
". . . pistols kept solely as relics, curios, or antiques not made for modern ammunition or permanently
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