sm
May 3, 2003, 12:34 AM
http://www.freep.com/news/locoak/gun1_20030501.htm
-----
Ferndale gun ban blocked
Appeals court overturns ruling on firearms in municipal buildings
May 1, 2003
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A state court has said local officials can't keep gun owners from carrying their weapons into libraries, city halls and other municipal buildings.
The ruling gives a victory to a statewide gun-rights group that challenged a 2001 ban by Ferndale on guns in city buildings.
Since then Detroit, East Lansing, Saline and other communities passed similar bans, and still others have considered bans.
By a 3-0 decision, however, a panel of Michigan Court of Appeals judges ruled Tuesday that communities can't add new restrictions to state rules on where gun owners can carry a weapon.
The decision was hailed Wednesday as "a decisive victory" by the National Rifle Association's chief Washington lobbyist, Chris Cox. The ruling should put an immediate end to all such bans in Michigan, said leaders of the Lansing-based Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners.
But typically, only parties named in a court decision are affected by it.
And in a situation such as Ferndale's, where a higher court reverses a lower court's decision, an appeal typically freezes the effect of the new ruling, said experts in constitutional law. An Oakland County Circuit Court judge upheld Ferndale's ordinance last year.
Calling the ruling "just balderdash," Ferndale Mayor Bob Porter said the city will appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court and would leave up signs banning guns from city buildings.
Detroit City Councilman Kenneth Cockrel said he was not entirely surprised given the conservative makeup of the court.
"You have to wonder what kind of message the court is trying to send," he said. "It's a little bizarre. . . . It's very disappointing."
East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said he will contact Ferndale to discuss an appeal. In November, his city banned firearms in city buildings, parks and recreational centers.
"I can't imagine this is what the state Legislature wanted," Staton said. "I don't know why we need to carry concealed weapons into libraries and recreational centers."
Detroit City Councilwoman Kay Everett said she voted for the Detroit ordinance but does not believe it could be enforced. The city, she said, does not have the money for metal detectors for all of its buildings.
"Obviously the state supercedes the city," she said. "If anybody wants to pursue this, they should go to the state level."
Under state law, gun owners may not carry weapons on school property, or into day-care centers, sports arenas, bars whose main income is alcohol sales, places of worship, hospitals and entertainment centers that have 2,500 or more seats, said Carol Bambery, lead attorney for the nonprofit gun-rights coalition of more than 32,000 Michigan gun owners.
If the gun bans in civic buildings had been allowed, "the next step we heard was to prohibit concealed weapons on city-owned sidewalks and streets," said Chuck Perricone, executive director. He said Ferndale's ban ensured that "criminals would be the only ones" carrying guns in Ferndale's municipal buildings.
The Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners was founded in 1996 to push for passage of the state's more lenient law for carrying concealed weapons.
Perricone said taxpayers should be upset that Ferndale is paying lawyers to pursue the case. Ferndale's lawyers are being paid by the city's insurance carrier, said City Manager Tom Barwin.
Ferndale has 21 days in which to file its appeal, said Joe Seward, a Livonia attorney who led the city's legal team.
If the Supreme Court accepts Ferndale's appeal -- and that decision could take three to 12 months -- a final decision could take another year after that, Seward said Wednesday.
Contact BILL LAITNER at 248-586-2608. Staff writers Jamie Gumbrecht and Cecil Angel contributed to this report.
-----
Ferndale gun ban blocked
Appeals court overturns ruling on firearms in municipal buildings
May 1, 2003
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A state court has said local officials can't keep gun owners from carrying their weapons into libraries, city halls and other municipal buildings.
The ruling gives a victory to a statewide gun-rights group that challenged a 2001 ban by Ferndale on guns in city buildings.
Since then Detroit, East Lansing, Saline and other communities passed similar bans, and still others have considered bans.
By a 3-0 decision, however, a panel of Michigan Court of Appeals judges ruled Tuesday that communities can't add new restrictions to state rules on where gun owners can carry a weapon.
The decision was hailed Wednesday as "a decisive victory" by the National Rifle Association's chief Washington lobbyist, Chris Cox. The ruling should put an immediate end to all such bans in Michigan, said leaders of the Lansing-based Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners.
But typically, only parties named in a court decision are affected by it.
And in a situation such as Ferndale's, where a higher court reverses a lower court's decision, an appeal typically freezes the effect of the new ruling, said experts in constitutional law. An Oakland County Circuit Court judge upheld Ferndale's ordinance last year.
Calling the ruling "just balderdash," Ferndale Mayor Bob Porter said the city will appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court and would leave up signs banning guns from city buildings.
Detroit City Councilman Kenneth Cockrel said he was not entirely surprised given the conservative makeup of the court.
"You have to wonder what kind of message the court is trying to send," he said. "It's a little bizarre. . . . It's very disappointing."
East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said he will contact Ferndale to discuss an appeal. In November, his city banned firearms in city buildings, parks and recreational centers.
"I can't imagine this is what the state Legislature wanted," Staton said. "I don't know why we need to carry concealed weapons into libraries and recreational centers."
Detroit City Councilwoman Kay Everett said she voted for the Detroit ordinance but does not believe it could be enforced. The city, she said, does not have the money for metal detectors for all of its buildings.
"Obviously the state supercedes the city," she said. "If anybody wants to pursue this, they should go to the state level."
Under state law, gun owners may not carry weapons on school property, or into day-care centers, sports arenas, bars whose main income is alcohol sales, places of worship, hospitals and entertainment centers that have 2,500 or more seats, said Carol Bambery, lead attorney for the nonprofit gun-rights coalition of more than 32,000 Michigan gun owners.
If the gun bans in civic buildings had been allowed, "the next step we heard was to prohibit concealed weapons on city-owned sidewalks and streets," said Chuck Perricone, executive director. He said Ferndale's ban ensured that "criminals would be the only ones" carrying guns in Ferndale's municipal buildings.
The Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners was founded in 1996 to push for passage of the state's more lenient law for carrying concealed weapons.
Perricone said taxpayers should be upset that Ferndale is paying lawyers to pursue the case. Ferndale's lawyers are being paid by the city's insurance carrier, said City Manager Tom Barwin.
Ferndale has 21 days in which to file its appeal, said Joe Seward, a Livonia attorney who led the city's legal team.
If the Supreme Court accepts Ferndale's appeal -- and that decision could take three to 12 months -- a final decision could take another year after that, Seward said Wednesday.
Contact BILL LAITNER at 248-586-2608. Staff writers Jamie Gumbrecht and Cecil Angel contributed to this report.