A circuit court judge in Genesee County, MI, handed down a ruling early last month that a local man could legally carry a sidearm openly into an elementary school to pick up his daughter.
However, according to the Detroit Free Press, the victory could be short-lived depending upon an appeal by the school district in this case. Still, it gave open carry activists a chance to celebrate.
The newspaper said Kenneth Herman was joined by Michigan Open Carry in the legal action after Herman complained in March of this year that he had been repeatedly denied entry into Edgerton Elementary School to pick up his daughter. Under state law, someone licensed to carry concealed can carry openly in a school, the newspaper said, but the school district’s attorney told the Free Press that the law also allows school districts to adopt policies for student safety.
The school’s attorney, Tim Mullins, told reporters that school administrators “are forced to act” when someone enters their building with a visible firearm. One OCDO member suggested that the local police chief should bill the school for every call his department gets.
The ruling by Circuit Judge Archie Hayman flies in the face of policies nationwide that prohibit the carrying of firearms in school buildings. Mullins noted that guns are prohibited in other places including airports and courthouses.
Clio School Supt. Fletcher Spears reportedly contended that there is ambiguity in the state law, and that the Legislature needs to revise the language. Spears is reportedly a life member of the National Rifle Association, and he apparently supported a measure that would have allowed concealed carry in schools, but was vetoed, the Free Press story said.
