Michigan (State of) College Question

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bigalexe

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According to "Firearm Laws of Michigan" I could only find reference to carrying of firearms being illegal in a University Dormitory or Classroom. Does someone know better than me if you would be in legal trouble for carrying elsewhere on a University campus?

Specifically I am curious about:
-Commuting to and from Campus, firearm would be in a University Parking Lot and/or Parking Structure (as a student).
-Carrying (Concealed) in non-classroom and non-residential buildings or carrying outside buildings (as a student).

and while we are on the subject one thing that I have been curious about for some time:
-Carrying (Concealed or Openly) as a Non-Student while passing through a campus area on the sidewalk. People like to go for walks around their own community!

I could not find anything in University documentation that referred to a no-weapons policy on campus so at this point the institution will remain unnamed.
 
It depends on the school. I believe, and I may be wrong, that U of M and MSU can legally prohibit guns from their property. Not the old trespassing gimmick, but I think they actually have the authority under our State Constitution to make binding firearms prohibitions. Those two schools have an odd status under the Michigan Constitution and are allowed a lot of extra privileges and immunities not given to any other school in the state. As for the rest of the schools, they rely punishing your through college reprimands as well as kicking you off campus/citing you for trespassing if you come back, just like any other private property owner can.

So unless it's U of M or MSU, campus parking lots and in your car should be legally OK, though still against school rules and grounds for expulsion. If you're carrying on MSU or U of M property, even outside of dorms and classrooms, I think you can still get in trouble for the gun crime itself, not just school rules/trespassing.
 
Ragnar is correct.

The three colleges chartered in the state constitution have the power to set regulations that have the force of law. And, since these universities are NOT considered "Local units of government" they are NOT covered by Michigan's firearms pre emption law.

This means that MSU, U of M, and, IIRC, Wayne State University can prohibit firearms anywhere on campus, for anyone, and have it stick.

I believe that U of M does have such a ban. MSU changed it's policies last year to allow firearms on public streets and such. (The dorm and classroom ban still stands as that is state law)

I dont know about WSU.
 
I am pretty certain that the new MSU policy only applies to firearms in vehicles, or a CPL holder in a vehicle, and not walking on any campus grounds.

The issue was, according to university policy, firearms were not allowed even in vehicles passing through campus. So if one were pulled over in a traffic stop and a firearm was discovered, it was an automatic violation.

The new policy allows CPL holders, in vehicles passing through campus on a public road, to do so without worrying about a weapons violation.
 
I wonder when this is gonna get taken to court, as definitely flies in the face of the intent of Preemption. U of M and MSU own huge parts of Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and transit from one place to another, engaging in perfectly legal private business, can force one to traverse University property. One is essentially breaking University "law" simply by being in Ann Arbor or East Lansing with a firearm.
 
UoM does indeed have a complete gun ban on University property that goes beyond the restrictions set by state law. And as Ragnar has pointed out, the University does have this odd legal status allowing them to supersede state pre-emption.

http://www.regents.umich.edu/ordinance.pdf

Scroll down to page 45, the pertinent section is Article X.

It does not matter if you have a CPL. If you're caught on University property with a gun, you will be fined and/or thrown in jail, and if you're a student, you may be expelled.

I'm no expert, so I don't know what would happen if you're on a public road surrounded by University property, or if the local police stops you on University property as opposed to the University police.
 
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I wonder when this is gonna get taken to court, as definitely flies in the face of the intent of Preemption. U of M and MSU own huge parts of Ann Arbor and East Lansing, and transit from one place to another, engaging in perfectly legal private business, can force one to traverse University property. One is essentially breaking University "law" simply by being in Ann Arbor or East Lansing with a firearm.
Click to expand...

The consensus among lawyers I know who have looked at this is that a court challenge will go nowhere.

Pre-emption applies to "local units of government." In statue, "local units of government" are defined as "Cities, townships, villages, and counties." (Not a direct quote, so if I left one out, you still get the idea)

The powers MSU, U of M, and Waye State (is it Wayne? Now I'm not sure) get to regulate their operations derive from the fact that they are chartered in the state constitution. That gives them the ability to enact a gun ban and have it hold up.

But, since they are specifically not a "twp, city, village, or county" they are not considered a "Local unit of government" for pre-emption purposes, and thus it doesn't apply.

As for "intent of the legislature" when they created the pre-emption law those universities had already been created decades earlier. The argument is that if the legislature wanted pre-emption to apply to those universities, they knew they exisited and weren't included, and they would have been able to include them in the law when the Bill was written.

In other words, they had their chance when the wrote the law and specifically did not include those universities, so they retain their special privilege.
 
WMU=Western Michigan University, which is in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Wayne State is in Detroit, Michigan.....about 150 miles apart.....
Different Universities in Michigan have different rules....
It takes research to determine them....
Michigan Gun owners forum would be a good place to ask....
 
Western Michigan University=WMU
Wayne State University=WSU

Western has no guns allowed on campus at every entrance. Also the student code prohibits students from possessing weapons. Or anything someone may perceive as a weapon any place on campus!

My guess would be the other 13 Universities and 28 community colleges' also prohibit guns/weapons.
 
My guess would be the other 13 Universities and 28 community colleges' also prohibit guns/weapons.
Click to expand...

True. But those prohibitions do not carry legal weight. Your local community college can totally prohibit firearms on campus, but the most they can do for a violation is expel you. MI state law only prohibits firearms in dorms and classrooms. The above noted exception being U of M, MSU, and WSU who can actually have your prosecuted legally for firearms violations for having a gun anywhere on campus.
 
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