Genesee County Sheriff Phone Call

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I am new to the handgun world; I plan to get my cpl in the near future. I stumbled on the Michigan Open Carry site and have been trying to read up on the law, your open carry experiences, etc. I find the reading very interesting.

After reading many posts on here, I see that many members open carry with no issues. Others have been inconvenienced by LEOs. I wanted to understand what the situation is in Genesee County, so I called the Sheriff's Office. I asked them point blank "Is it OK to open carry a handgun in Michigan, and more specifically in Genesee County?"

1. The first guy that answered the phone told me that was illegal and I would be in a lot of trouble if I tried that. I begged to differ and explained I think Michigan has a law that makes it legal, etc.....he transfered me to the CPL processing dept.

2. I speak to a lady in this office and I again explained my question to them.She answered it is legal only on private property. Again, I was dumbfounded and basically said I thought she was incorrect. She passed me on to another person in the office.

3. The third person, same routine...I ask my question....they said they thought it was illegal. I again explained that I thought they were incorrect. She went on to say how I could be in trouble for trying something like that.....I again questioned her and she deferred me to the Michigan State Police.

How can the Sheriff's Office not be aware of the law? Or, are they aware of the law but try to discourage citizens from following the law by giving bogus information? Has anyone else dealt with the Genesee County Sherriff's Office and had different results?

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Caseman,

Welcome, and thanks for looking inot open carry. There is no law that allows open carry, its just that there is NO law to prohibit open carry.

Many people have called/asked LEO's across the state to see if open carry is legal. There are some LEO's that are either unaware that it is legal, or they just try to discourage people from open carrying. Sometimes you may be asking a clerical worker that is unaware that OC (open carry) is legal. I understand you are probably just trying to cover all your bases before you (possibly) OC by asking your local police if they are aware of it and know it's legal, but many times it is pointless. You could send them(or deliver in person)an "LEO PACKET" (which is one of the threads "sticked" on this forum. This way you know they recieved the pamphlet informing them that OC is in fact legal. This will help you if you are ever faced with a court battle for lawfully carrying (just make sure you are folloing the letter of the law to a "T").

Please make sure you are aware of the laws and rules you must follow before you decide to open carry. Start off by reading the topic WASH,RINSE,REPEAT that is "stickied" on the Michigan forums homepage of opencarry.org

Hope this helps!

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The Genesse Sheriff's department is well aware of OC, but the clerks may not be. We have sent an info packet to all Michigan Sheriffs departments and they had a Sheriff's Association training session on OC two weeks ago, so they are all aware of OC.

I concur with Vance, don't ask the local police department about the law, in generalwe have found them to be woefully ill-informed.

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Welcome, caseman!

T Vance covered the main points. Keep in mind the importance of knowing the differences between OC'ing without a CPL and with a CPL. Without a CPL, you are still free to OC, however there are many more "landmines" to watch out for. For example, if you don't have a CPL you are NOT exempted from the prohibition against open carry in ANY establishment that sells alcohol. Notice that is "sells", and not just "serves". Without a CPL you may not lawfully OC into places such as grocery stores or convenience stores that sell any form of alcoholic beverage.

Be sure to know the law! It is wise to start step by step when you are a beginner: only OC in new places after you've reviewed the law to be sure you're not prohibited from doing so, and come here to ask questions on any point you feel is not clear.

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Thanks for the info. I will watch for your open carry events and try to attend one when my schedule allows.

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If they have been made aware of the law and the representatives of their department continue to provide their own interpretation of the law to non law enforcement inquisitors, how is there no repercussions for this? I dont understand how these departments can lawfully continue providing false information with the intent to mislead citizens.

What if they start telling people "you cannot drive down the road at night or you will be arrested" or "you cannot walk on the sidewalk with your one hand in your pocket and the other hailing a taxi cab, as that's illegal"?

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Welcome Caseman,
Since everyone else already answered your question, I will ask you to please add Michigan to your profile, so we can get credit for your membership, at the top of your screen, click "my account" then the profile tab. Thanks, and again

Welcome!!! Lots of great people here... tons of information!!

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Thanks for the heads-up...I updated my profile.

I agree, there is a lot of info on here... almost too much info to get my hands around.

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Welcome caseman: I have OC'd all over Genessee county for the last 5yrs. (most of it on the east side even) not a single issue. The issues of cops telling you it's illegal in my opinion...
1. they don't like us doing it.
2. they figure if you're asking....you don't know either.
3. scare tactic...deterrent by badge. i.e....if you don't know and they tell you it's illegal, you won't bother to check it out and you won't OC.

Where in Genessee county are you? Maybe we can hook up for lunch and OC together if you want some company.

Jerry

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WARCHILD wrote:

Welcome caseman: I have OC'd all over Genessee county for the last 5yrs. (most of it on the east side even) not a single issue. The issues of cops telling you it's illegal in my opinion...
1. they don't like us doing it.
2. they figure if you're asking....you don't know either.
3. scare tactic...deterrent by badge. i.e....if you don't know and they tell you it's illegal, you won't bother to check it out and you won't OC.

Where in Genessee county are you? Maybe we can hook up for lunch and OC together if you want some company.

Jerry

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I am in the Grand Blanc area....Where are you from?

I am still in the process of trying to decide what handgun(s) to purchase, so I can't even OC yet. I do plan to get my cpl training done in the near future. I am thinking a .380 for pocket carry in warm weather and something more traditional for CC in cooler weather (or possibly OC someday).

I still wouldn't mind hooking up for lunch sometime just to get to know some of the guys on the board.

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Get a 1911A1 .45auto.

Wear it in a shoulder holster in the winter...or open carry it in a shoulder holster in the summer...

You'll be quite happy.

Or belt carry!

-Richard-

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office888 wrote:

Get a 1911A1 .45auto.

Wear it in a shoulder holster in the winter...or open carry it in a shoulder holster in the summer...

You'll be quite happy.

Or belt carry!

-Richard-

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Welcome also!! I concur! :celebrate:celebrateMy carry weapon is a Springfield 1911A1 45acp. My new "smaller" B.U.G. <back up gun> is a Bersa Thunder 380 acp. Both are great guns and are very reasonably priced. 7 shot Bersa 380's run around 250 and the 15 shot like mine was 340. Gunbroker.com is a great site to look around on.......Enjoy

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Another new member here, also in Genesee County. I used to live in Grand Blanc, but have just recently relocated to Clayton Township. My wife and I have been discussing the importance of politely exercising our right to open carry. We have been discussing possible ramifications, and preparing for possible encounters. Even though it is unlikely that she will personally OC, I want her VERY prepared for any encounters we may have together. I am interested in meeting up with some other OC'ers in the area to begin to build relationships, and learn how to properly/legally excercise my right.

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Helikopteron wrote:

Another new member here, also in Genesee County.  I used to live in Grand Blanc, but have just recently relocated to Clayton Township.  My wife and I have been discussing the importance of politely exercising our right to open carry.  We have been discussing possible ramifications, and preparing for possible encounters.  Even though it is unlikely that she will personally OC, I want her VERY prepared for any encounters we may have together.  I am interested in meeting up with some other OC'ers in the area to begin to build relationships, and learn how to properly/legally excercise my right.

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Welcome to the forums!

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Hi. This is my first post here.

I am also in the Grand Blanc area. I would definitelybe interested in meeting some people for lunch. Maybe somewherenear Advanced Ranges on Center road? It would be nice to meet some open carriers face to face. I'm reading through all of the rules, but it would be nice to speak to real people.

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Hello and welcome to the forum,
to caseman, warchild, and mcintoch02,
I would love to meet up and have lunch somewhere, I live in genesee county and if there is somewhere we could all agree on i would be willing to take the day off to meet up, PM me or email me @ deveryismanic@hotmail.com
Devery

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I agree...I am a novice on the open carry subject. I would like to meet up with some fellow Grand Blanc/Genesee County people to ask questions and get informed. I know Warchild has lunch in Flint every other Saturday and we may be able to meet up with him there....just a thought.

Dave

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I will be taking the entire week of 11/16-11/20 off from work. I'll be hunting a few of those days, but any day other than thursday works for me.