A majority of Detroit’s nine-member City Council have concealed-weapons permits and carry guns, reports the Detroit Free Press. Said one, the Rev. Andre Spivey: “I was concerned that the city of Detroit not turn into the wild, wild West but [] the office presents some challenges. I don’t feel I have to use it, but I’ll feel more comfortable having it.”
Despite the city’s $300-million budget deficit, the council has a full-time, nine-officer police unit. Eleven cities surveyed by the Free Press with populations and government bodies about the size of Detroit’s limit security for their members mostly to council meetings. None has a designated unit. One member said he has received death threats, and another said members sometimes must ward off irate citizens.