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Ypsi Twp Parks

Greggy_D

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Found this in the township ordinances:



Sec. 46-61. Possession and use of firearms; dangerous weapons; fireworks.


It shall be unlawful for any person to:

(1)Possess within park property, fire or discharge, or cause to be fired or discharged across, in or into any portion of the park, any gun or firearm, spear, bow and arrow, crossbow, sling shot, air or gas weapon, or any other dangerous weapon or projectile, except for purposes designated by the board in areas and at times designated by the board;

(2)Possess, set off or attempt to set off or ignite any firecracker, fireworks, smoke bombs, rockets, black powder guns or other pyrotechnics without authorization from the director; or

(3)Possess or carry in any park, any air gun, paint gun, bow and arrow, or any illegal weapon.

Any unauthorized or illegal weapon within a park shall be subject to seizure by a law enforcement officer.

(Ord. No. 2004-339, ch. III, § F, 5-4-04)



And this one:

Sec. 42-209. Firearms.


It shall be unlawful for any person to transport, carry, or possess a firearm while in or upon the waters of Ford Lake, the islands within Ford Lake, or any Township land abutting Ford Lake, unless said person is a law enforcement officer engaged in performing his or her lawful duties.

(Ord. No. 96-149, 4-16-96)

Secs. 42-210--42-220. Reserved.




Looks likea portion of these ordinancesare illegal to me. Who should I contact first within the twp?
 

Greggy_D

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Found this for the CITY of Ypsilanti (different from township):



Sec. 74-127. Possession of weapons in public places.

No person shall have any weapon in his possession in any public place, with the following exceptions:

(1)A law enforcement officer of any governmental unit may have a weapon in his possession to the extent that such possession is required for the performance of his lawful duties.

(2)A person may have a weapon in his possession when in connection with a regularly scheduled educational, recreational or training program under adequate supervision; provided, that the transporting of weapons to and from such location shall be under the requirements of subsection (5) of this section.

(3)An established dealer in weapons or repairman of weapons may have weapons in his possession in his place of business for the purposes of making lawful sale or repair of such weapons.

(4)The proprietor of a place of business, or his duly authorized agent, may have a weapon in his possession in such place of business for purposes of protecting such place of business.

(5)A person may have a weapon in his possession for purposes of transporting such weapon to any location where it may lawfully be possessed under this division; provided, that when being so transported, such weapon shall be encased and, in the case of guns, shall be unloaded.

(6)A person may have a weapon in his possession under the provisions of a valid state permit for carrying of a concealed weapon.

(Code 1983, § 9.222)
 

Venator

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Greggy_D wrote:
Found this in the ordinances:



Sec. 46-61. Possession and use of firearms; dangerous weapons; fireworks.


It shall be unlawful for any person to:

(1)Possess within park property, fire or discharge, or cause to be fired or discharged across, in or into any portion of the park, any gun or firearm, spear, bow and arrow, crossbow, sling shot, air or gas weapon, or any other dangerous weapon or projectile, except for purposes designated by the board in areas and at times designated by the board;

(2)Possess, set off or attempt to set off or ignite any firecracker, fireworks, smoke bombs, rockets, black powder guns or other pyrotechnics without authorization from the director; or

(3)Possess or carry in any park, any air gun, paint gun, bow and arrow, or any illegal weapon.

Any unauthorized or illegal weapon within a park shall be subject to seizure by a law enforcement officer.

(Ord. No. 2004-339, ch. III, § F, 5-4-04)



Looks likea portion of thisordinance is illegal to me. Who should I contact first within the twp?
All local ordinances on firearms are illegal. CAN'T SAY THIS ENOUGH. the 1990 preemption law applies to every local municipality. It was challenged and upheld by the MI court of appeals. Check out the info thread at the top of the Michigan page for more detail. They put up these signs to intimidate the masses. The educated know they are not legal.
 

Venator

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Greggy_D wrote:
Found this for the CITY of Ypsilanti (different from township):



Sec. 74-127. Possession of weapons in public places.

No person shall have any weapon in his possession in any public place, with the following exceptions:

(1)A law enforcement officer of any governmental unit may have a weapon in his possession to the extent that such possession is required for the performance of his lawful duties.

(2)A person may have a weapon in his possession when in connection with a regularly scheduled educational, recreational or training program under adequate supervision; provided, that the transporting of weapons to and from such location shall be under the requirements of subsection (5) of this section.

(3)An established dealer in weapons or repairman of weapons may have weapons in his possession in his place of business for the purposes of making lawful sale or repair of such weapons.

(4)The proprietor of a place of business, or his duly authorized agent, may have a weapon in his possession in such place of business for purposes of protecting such place of business.

(5)A person may have a weapon in his possession for purposes of transporting such weapon to any location where it may lawfully be possessed under this division; provided, that when being so transported, such weapon shall be encased and, in the case of guns, shall be unloaded.

(6)A person may have a weapon in his possession under the provisions of a valid state permit for carrying of a concealed weapon.

(Code 1983, § 9.222)
They forgot one, that is if you DO NOT have a CPL you can legally open carry in said places.
 

Michigander

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Do keep in mind that most of that IS legal. Any weapon other than a firearm isn't covered by pre emption. They can freely pass laws that regulate knives, air guns, paint guns, and any other non gun weapon. And of course they can regulate discharge.
 

Greggy_D

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The City of Ypsilanti has a City Attorney. I'll contact him next week.

Ypsilanti Township's website is a little lacking in the information department. I'll have to call them Wednesday to find my ultimate contact.

Geez....I bet just about every city/township in this state has ordinances against possession of firearms. Time to inform them one city at a time.
 

Greggy_D

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From their Parks website:

http://www.twp.ypsilanti.mi.us/recreate/parksystem.shtml

Park Rules...
To ensure the enjoyment and safety of all of our park users, we ask that you follow these park rules:


  • Park hours are dawn to dusk.
  • No refunds given for daily or seasonal passes.
  • Pets are allowed on a leash only.
  • Pet owners must clean up after their pets.
  • Swimming & wading is not allowed off of the shores of Ford Lake. The Lake has sharp drop-offs and strong currents, which can be dangerous.
  • Possession & consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in all parks and townships properties.
  • Hunting is not allowed in any park.
  • Fireworks and firearms of any kind are not allowed in any park.
  • Fires are to be built in grills only.
  • Camping in any park prohibited.
  • Defacing or removal of park property (including wildlife, plant or animal) is prohibited.
  • Jet ski's must be off of the water one hour prior to sunset.
  • Two jet ski maximum per vehicle.
Time for a call to the Park Commissioners also. To tell you the truth, this is turning out to be slightly entertaining. :D
 

Venator

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Greggy_D wrote:
The City of Ypsilanti has a City Attorney. I'll contact him next week.

Ypsilanti Township's website is a little lacking in the information department. I'll have to call them Wednesday to find my ultimate contact.

Geez....I bet just about every city/township in this state has ordinances against possession of firearms. Time to inform them one city at a time.

Or at least ignore them. Look they have very little incentive to remove them. It would take time and money to take them down. In the meantime they havean advantage to keeping them up...it controls the masses, it keeps the antis happy, and they can point to them when they want to hassle the uninformed.

If you have the time to take on every local municipality in the state go ahead. My township has an ordinance banning weapons in our parks, no signs are posted, and the Chief knows it's illegal and won't enforce them but hewon't demand that the Boardchangethe ordinance.

Most of the gun bans were on the local books before 1990, and I suspect they will keep them on the books because the preemption law could be changed by the legislature in the future so why bother changing the ordinance, most ordinances have a disclaimer in them saying any ordinance that is in conflict with state law is illegal.

All you should do is let the local LEO's know that open carry is legal and go ahead and open carry, if they still want to press it you have legal recourses.
 

nikon1123

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Actually, I contacted the Ypsi City Attorney last week, after being harassed by the YPD on 7/4. According to the Assistant City Attorney, he's writing something to the YPD saying that the local ordinance is illegal (this after I presented him with the state law and a copy of MCRGO v. Ferndale).
 

SpringerXDacp

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nikon1123 wrote:
Actually, I contacted the Ypsi City Attorney last week, after being harassed by the YPD on 7/4. According to the Assistant City Attorney, he's writing something to the YPD saying that the local ordinance is illegal (this after I presented him with the state law and a copy of MCRGO v. Ferndale).

Welcome to OCDO Nikon.

Can you provide us with some details about your YPD harassment? If weapons related, were you OC or CC in a prohibited area, etc.?
 

nikon1123

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OCing on a public sidewalk, not a prohibited area. Police stopped me, asked for ID, told them I didn't have any on me. They asked my name and ran me for outstanding warrants, then let me go. Then, about 15 minutes later, they pull up in the street, tell me there's a local ordinance against open carry. I asked about the state preemption, and they told me that the local law had force over the state law. They then watched me as I walked the rest of the way home (which, at that point, was across the street).
 

SpringerXDacp

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nikon1123 wrote:
OCing on a public sidewalk, not a prohibited area. Police stopped me, asked for ID, told them I didn't have any on me. They asked my name and ran me for outstanding warrants, then let me go. Then, about 15 minutes later, they pull up in the street, tell me there's a local ordinance against open carry. I asked about the state preemption, and they told me that the local law had force over the state law. They then watched me as I walked the rest of the way home (which, at that point, was across the street).

Making laws up as they go, eh??? Though they were in the wrong for the stop, it actually, turned out to be a non-event...good job. :)
 

nikon1123

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Yeah, I was pretty happy that they just let me go rather than trying to make a bigger deal about it. I'll be honest, even though I knew I was in the clear, I was pretty worried for a minute.

Edit: Scared is a little strong. I was worried.
 

Greggy_D

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Venator wrote:
Greggy_D wrote:
The City of Ypsilanti has a City Attorney. I'll contact him next week.

Ypsilanti Township's website is a little lacking in the information department. I'll have to call them Wednesday to find my ultimate contact.

Geez....I bet just about every city/township in this state has ordinances against possession of firearms. Time to inform them one city at a time.

Or at least ignore them. Look they have very little incentive to remove them. It would take time and money to take them down. In the meantime they havean advantage to keeping them up...it controls the masses, it keeps the antis happy, and they can point to them when they want to hassle the uninformed.

And that's exactly why I would go out of my way to make these cities/twps comply with the law. The uninformed sheep (which I was once a member of) do not deserve to be controlled. It's our job to stay on top of these local .govs .

I can't simply sit back and ignore what is not right.
 

Venator

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Greggy_D wrote:
Venator wrote:
Greggy_D wrote:
The City of Ypsilanti has a City Attorney. I'll contact him next week.

Ypsilanti Township's website is a little lacking in the information department. I'll have to call them Wednesday to find my ultimate contact.

Geez....I bet just about every city/township in this state has ordinances against possession of firearms. Time to inform them one city at a time.

Or at least ignore them. Look they have very little incentive to remove them. It would take time and money to take them down. In the meantime they havean advantage to keeping them up...it controls the masses, it keeps the antis happy, and they can point to them when they want to hassle the uninformed.

And that's exactly why I would go out of my way to make these cities/twps comply with the law. The uninformed sheep (which I was once a member of) do not deserve to be controlled. It's our job to stay on top of these local .govs .

I can't simply sit back and ignore what is not right.

Because I like to qoute myself.....and it's on topic.

“The charge of every citizen of a free state is to be ever vigilante of the government’s role as their servant and not allow it to become their master.” Brian Jeffs, 2008
 

nikon1123

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I have reviewed the matter and you are correct that State Law preempts the City ordinance with regard to handguns. Please note my opinion only relates to the City of Ypsilanti Ordinance and not as to whether your actions violate any state or federal law. Karl A. Barr


This was emailed to me by the Assistant City Attorney, and cc'd to the Ypsi chief of police. I guess I'm not getting a formal opinion, but hey, it's something!
 

Venator

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nikon1123 wrote:
I have reviewed the matter and you are correct that State Law preempts the City ordinance with regard to handguns. Please note my opinion only relates to the City of Ypsilanti Ordinance and not as to whether your actions violate any state or federal law. Karl A. Barr


This was emailed to me by the Assistant City Attorney, and cc'd to the Ypsi chief of police. I guess I'm not getting a formal opinion, but hey, it's something!
That is more of a response then most of usget, good job. Well it's kinda formal in regards to local stuff. He can't comment on state and federal law, outside of his area.
 
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