WARCHILD
Regular Member
imported post
[size=[b]I hope this is sufficient enough to justify at least this one---[/b]][/size]
[size=[b]Brandishing [/b]][/size]
At this time there is no actual "legal" definition of "Brandishing" contained within Michigan laws... however Attorney General Granholm defines "Brandishing" in Opinion # 7101:
http://www.ag.state.mi.us/opinion/d...00s/op10176.htm
in relation to a reserve police officer. The pertinent part of all that is the fact that the Attorney General referred to the dictionary definition of "Brandishing" when forming her opinion. The same dictionary definition that would be applied to a citizen in determining "Brandishing".
[size="Brandishing" requires intent to intimidate.][/size]
[size=
][/size][size=There is a difference between moving a garment to expose a gun in order to let someone know you mean business and moving that garment to show someone your new gun (or the wind blowing a jacket open briefly). One has the intent to intimidate (brandishing) and the other has no such intent (no crime).][/size]
Open carry in and of itself has no intention to intimidate. It is just a gun in a holster. It is possible a case for "Brandishing" could be made depending on where/when a person was open carrying. Carrying openly at 0 dark thirty in the slums could be interpreted as either "Brandishing" or common sense, depending on the intent of the person carrying, but finding out who believes who in court would be expensive.
And PDogSniper is correct.... open carry in Michigan is legal simply because there is no legal language that makes it illegal. And, because there is no law to go against local areas can make their own ordinances if they wish. It is up to you to know all the local ordinances for every area you go to/are in if you decide to open carry.
As for what would happen if a person does open carry? Depends greatly on location. In the Upper Penninsula's rural areas most likely not a thing would happen other than weird looks from the tourists... and maybe a cop would stop and have a little chat just to see if you are a nut or not and, if not, you are on your way. However, in downtown Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, or any large city, open carry would result in plenty of police scrutiny most likely ending up with a secondary offense like disturbing the peace, inciting a public disturbance, or some other similar charge, simply because open carry is legal... so you can't be charged with that... but open carry is frowned upon where it is not commonly seen so a message will be sent that, although legal, it isn't wise to open carry in densely populated areas.
In short... open carry is legal in Michigan (depending on local ordinances) but, unless a person uses discretion as to where and when they open carry, plenty of hassle/attorney bills/arrests/convictions on lesser charges are a very real hazard.
That doesn't mean no one should ever open carry in Michigan... it just means to pick and choose where/when to open carry. Before ownership changed hands one convience store owner near where I live was happy as can be every time I open carried in his establishment. He liked the message it sent to his generally not so wonderful customers. The new owner however, does not have that point of view (although he supports concealed carry) so open carry there is no longer wise.
So... know your local ordinances... choose where and when to open carry wisely... expect to have a few polite interviews with police occasionally... and carry on!
[size=[b]I hope this is sufficient enough to justify at least this one---[/b]][/size]
[size=[b]Brandishing [/b]][/size]
At this time there is no actual "legal" definition of "Brandishing" contained within Michigan laws... however Attorney General Granholm defines "Brandishing" in Opinion # 7101:
http://www.ag.state.mi.us/opinion/d...00s/op10176.htm
in relation to a reserve police officer. The pertinent part of all that is the fact that the Attorney General referred to the dictionary definition of "Brandishing" when forming her opinion. The same dictionary definition that would be applied to a citizen in determining "Brandishing".
[size="Brandishing" requires intent to intimidate.][/size]
[size=
][/size][size=There is a difference between moving a garment to expose a gun in order to let someone know you mean business and moving that garment to show someone your new gun (or the wind blowing a jacket open briefly). One has the intent to intimidate (brandishing) and the other has no such intent (no crime).][/size]
Open carry in and of itself has no intention to intimidate. It is just a gun in a holster. It is possible a case for "Brandishing" could be made depending on where/when a person was open carrying. Carrying openly at 0 dark thirty in the slums could be interpreted as either "Brandishing" or common sense, depending on the intent of the person carrying, but finding out who believes who in court would be expensive.
And PDogSniper is correct.... open carry in Michigan is legal simply because there is no legal language that makes it illegal. And, because there is no law to go against local areas can make their own ordinances if they wish. It is up to you to know all the local ordinances for every area you go to/are in if you decide to open carry.
As for what would happen if a person does open carry? Depends greatly on location. In the Upper Penninsula's rural areas most likely not a thing would happen other than weird looks from the tourists... and maybe a cop would stop and have a little chat just to see if you are a nut or not and, if not, you are on your way. However, in downtown Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, or any large city, open carry would result in plenty of police scrutiny most likely ending up with a secondary offense like disturbing the peace, inciting a public disturbance, or some other similar charge, simply because open carry is legal... so you can't be charged with that... but open carry is frowned upon where it is not commonly seen so a message will be sent that, although legal, it isn't wise to open carry in densely populated areas.
In short... open carry is legal in Michigan (depending on local ordinances) but, unless a person uses discretion as to where and when they open carry, plenty of hassle/attorney bills/arrests/convictions on lesser charges are a very real hazard.
That doesn't mean no one should ever open carry in Michigan... it just means to pick and choose where/when to open carry. Before ownership changed hands one convience store owner near where I live was happy as can be every time I open carried in his establishment. He liked the message it sent to his generally not so wonderful customers. The new owner however, does not have that point of view (although he supports concealed carry) so open carry there is no longer wise.
So... know your local ordinances... choose where and when to open carry wisely... expect to have a few polite interviews with police occasionally... and carry on!