The Detroit News says the number of Michigan women who received or renewed concealed pistol licenses rose from 10,862 in 2010 to 25,418, a gain of 134 percent. And while women made up less than a quarter of the state’s new permit holders last year, their numbers are growing faster than the number of Michigan men getting licenses. The number of newly issued or renewed licenses for men surged 103 percent from 2010 to 2014.
Experts say the Michigan numbers reflect a national trend. The number of new concealed pistol licenses issued annually to women also climbed in the Detroit area between 2010 and 2014, rising 122 percent in Macomb County, 90 percent in Wayne County and 74 percent in Oakland County, according to state police. Gratiot County, in mid-central lower Michigan, had the state’s biggest jump in women with new licenses, up 489 percent. In Muskegon County the number of women obtaining licenses jumped 405 percent between 2010 and 2014.