Violence Policy Center
Hundreds of Michigan residents possess a federal license to manufacture firearms, yet relatively few actually produce any guns, according to Michigan’s Hidden Gun Manufacturers, a new study from the Violence Policy Center (VPC) as part of its ongoing Campaign for Gun Industry Accountability. Instead, the license is often used to bypass requirements that apply to unlicensed individuals buying a gun, such as background checks. In addition, license holders can purchase firearms interstate from wholesalers at discount and in unlimited quantities and, by paying additional fees to the government, undercut the tight restrictions on the sale and possession of new fully automatic machine guns and firearm silencers.
The license, known as a Type 07 Federal Firearms License (FFL), is issued by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
In Michigan in 2022, according to ATF data analyzed by the VPC:
- Seventy-six percent (324 of 425) of Michigan Type 07 license holders did not report producing any guns that year.
- Of the Michigan Type 07 license holders who did report producing guns that year, 55 percent (56 of 101) produced 10 or fewer firearms.
- Combined, Type 07 license holders who did not report producing any guns and Type 07 license holders who produced 10 guns or fewer that year represented 89 percent (380 of 425) of all Type 07 license holders in Michigan.
- From 2019 to 2023, the number of Type 07 license holders in Michigan increased by 67 percent ─ from 310 to 518 license holders.
- Twelve percent (51 out of 425) of Type 07 license holders were not listed in 2024 as having a state business license according to Michigan’s Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) database.
Nationally in 2022, 76 percent (11,684 of 15,445) of Type 07 license holders did not report producing any guns that year. From 2019 to 2023, the number of Type 07 FFLs nationwide increased 52 percent ─ from 13,125 to 19,997 license holders.
VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann states, “In Michigan, and across our nation, nearly 20,000 Americans possess a federal license to manufacture firearms. Yet little is known about how these individuals are actually using the powers associated with the license. We know that the vast majority of them aren’t manufacturing guns, so what are they doing? It’s long past time to find out.”
Using a VPC online research tool that utilizes ATF’s FFL database and Google Earth, the VPC reviewed the “place of business” for the 425 Type 07 license holders in Michigan in 2022. For license holders who did not report manufacturing any firearms to ATF (324 of 425), a significant number appeared to be operating out of homes. For license holders who reported producing 10 guns or fewer (56 of 425), the review revealed that while the majority of FFL holders’ place of business appeared to be non-residential structures, a not-insignificant portion appeared to operate out of homes, in a residential neighborhood, with no easily discernible signage. It is highly unlikely that the presence of the manufacturer would be known by local residents or passersby from sight alone.
