Michiganders could soon learn if the state’s concealed gun law violates the U.S. Constitution.

“Even if you’re not concerned about gun rights, I think we’re all concerned with how the U.S. Constitution gets interpreted,” attorney Roland Lindh told WEMU.

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Lindh is representing Kimberly Erin Langston, who filed an application on Monday to appeal a decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals last month that found the state’s concealed gun law comports with U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution.

Langston is charged with illegally carrying a concealed weapon in her purse without a permit as a passenger during a traffic stop in South Haven in April 2023. Langston moved to dismiss the case based on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen, which found the government must demonstrate that a regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, Bloomberg Law reports.

Langston contends Michigan’s concealed carry law violates the Second and 14^th amendments, but a trial court denied her motion, as did a Court of Appeals panel in April. The charge comes with a potential five year prison sentence and fine of up to $2,500.

“We hold that a shall-issue statutory scheme requiring a concealed pistol license does not inherently violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” the April opinion read. “Any challenges to the specifics of Michigan’s concealed pistol license statute are left to another case in which such arguments are properly raised.”

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Michigan law requires officials to issue a license to carry a concealed pistol absent a specific reason to refuse, such as a felony conviction.

The Michigan Prosecutors Association’s Timothy Baughman, who supported the law in Langston’s case, told WEMU Michigan law stands in contrast to other states that give authorities more discretion in rejecting permit applicants.

“So, Michigan’s law is not onerous, and it does fit within constitutional boundaries,” he said. “Except for certain exceptions having to do with prior convictions, the licensing authority has to issue a license if you request it.

“This was simply an unlicensed person carrying it in the passenger compartment of a vehicle and the court said the Legislature can make that a crime,” Baughman said.

Lindh disagrees, telling Michigan Public Radio last month that Michigan’s law is not consistent with the nation’s historical traditions of gun regulation when the Bill of Rights was adopted.

“If we look at history, whether we like it or not, whatever history says, if you can find an analogy for it, fine, the law stands,” he said. “If you can’t find an analogy for it in the past, than it’s unconstitutional.”

The appeal comes as Michigan implements a slew of new gun laws adopted by the Legislature’s Democratic majority last year.

The new regulations signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer requires Michiganders to lock firearms in the presence of anyone under the age of 18, and universal background checks for hunting rifles.

There’s also now red flag laws that allow law enforcement to seize weapons from anyone deemed a threat to themselves or others, and restrictions on folks convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing a firearm for up to eight years. Previously the restriction applied only to felony domestic violence convictions, WXYZ reports.

Those new laws took effect on Feb. 13.