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http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2009/12/23/news/doc4b31097e592d4316494163.txt#blogcomments
SNIP
The right to bear arms issue raised in Algonac
Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009
By Jeri Packer, Voice Staff Writer
Part one of an occasional series
Scott Webb showed up at the Dec. 15 Algonac City Council meeting with a gun.
It was perfectly legal.
Webb had a semi-automatic 40-caliber pistol lawfully holstered at his side, while he addressed the council regarding the state gun law.
. . .
Though he hasn't been approached about his gun in Algonac, Webb said he has in other cities during the four to five years he's been exercising his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Algonac Councilman Gary Tuzinowski said he was familiar with the state statute pre-empting the local ordinance regarding guns in certain public areas.
"It goes back many years and falls into other relic laws like, you can't feed your horse on Sundays," he said. "I don't like the fact that (a gun) is in your face, but the law is the law. I don't see a problem with the attorney going over it."
Tuzinowski cited an instance when a citizen openly carrying a gun attended a city council meeting in Ferndale. The man's right to carry was questioned and an attempt to enforce a local ordinance banning guns from the meeting was attempted, he said.
"It was turned down," he said. "You have no right to regulate where guns are used in public, when they follow the (state) law. Of course, you can't threaten anyone with it or use it (inappropriately)."
Memphis Police Chief Elena Danishevskaya said there is no local ordinance banning legal firearms in her rural community. She said many people are not aware of the open carry law in Michigan and are concerned at the sight of a weapon displayed in public.
"The general public gets nervous for a reason," she said. "A lot of things have happened throughout the country, like the rash of shootings in churches and schools, but these people aren't law-abiding citizens."
She said citizens in Memphis are welcome to carry a gun in public, provided they follow state guidelines, but asks them to be mindful of the fears of others.
"If people want to exercise their right, let them to do so, but please think of the citizens that get nervous when they see a gun in the open," she said. "And realize there may be some misunderstanding. A person might get nervous if they are a shop-owner."
Webb agrees that some people do get edgy at the sight of his Smith and Wesson, but said they wouldn't worry if they knew the screening process a gun-toter goes through for the right to carry a gun.
"We come under more scrutiny than the average law-abiding citizen to prove our right to carry a firearm in public legally," he said.
Webb is a member of the Michigan Open Carry, Inc., a non-profit organization that educates the public on gun ownership.
"I've been around firearms pretty much all my life," he said. "Michigan Open Carry provides education for everyone. The laws can be very confusing."
Part of those laws includes the proper protocol for carrying a gun in public, which includes keeping it holstered at all times.
"Unless I have to use it," he added, but also said it is something he hopes he will never have to do.
"It's a tool I carry with me," he said. "I hope I will never need to use it, but when I am in public, no one can guarantee a crime is not going to happen."
Coming next: The pros and cons of carrying a gun.
http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2009/12/23/news/doc4b31097e592d4316494163.txt#blogcomments
SNIP
The right to bear arms issue raised in Algonac
Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009
By Jeri Packer, Voice Staff Writer
Part one of an occasional series
Scott Webb showed up at the Dec. 15 Algonac City Council meeting with a gun.
It was perfectly legal.
Webb had a semi-automatic 40-caliber pistol lawfully holstered at his side, while he addressed the council regarding the state gun law.
. . .
Though he hasn't been approached about his gun in Algonac, Webb said he has in other cities during the four to five years he's been exercising his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Algonac Councilman Gary Tuzinowski said he was familiar with the state statute pre-empting the local ordinance regarding guns in certain public areas.
"It goes back many years and falls into other relic laws like, you can't feed your horse on Sundays," he said. "I don't like the fact that (a gun) is in your face, but the law is the law. I don't see a problem with the attorney going over it."
Tuzinowski cited an instance when a citizen openly carrying a gun attended a city council meeting in Ferndale. The man's right to carry was questioned and an attempt to enforce a local ordinance banning guns from the meeting was attempted, he said.
"It was turned down," he said. "You have no right to regulate where guns are used in public, when they follow the (state) law. Of course, you can't threaten anyone with it or use it (inappropriately)."
Memphis Police Chief Elena Danishevskaya said there is no local ordinance banning legal firearms in her rural community. She said many people are not aware of the open carry law in Michigan and are concerned at the sight of a weapon displayed in public.
"The general public gets nervous for a reason," she said. "A lot of things have happened throughout the country, like the rash of shootings in churches and schools, but these people aren't law-abiding citizens."
She said citizens in Memphis are welcome to carry a gun in public, provided they follow state guidelines, but asks them to be mindful of the fears of others.
"If people want to exercise their right, let them to do so, but please think of the citizens that get nervous when they see a gun in the open," she said. "And realize there may be some misunderstanding. A person might get nervous if they are a shop-owner."
Webb agrees that some people do get edgy at the sight of his Smith and Wesson, but said they wouldn't worry if they knew the screening process a gun-toter goes through for the right to carry a gun.
"We come under more scrutiny than the average law-abiding citizen to prove our right to carry a firearm in public legally," he said.
Webb is a member of the Michigan Open Carry, Inc., a non-profit organization that educates the public on gun ownership.
"I've been around firearms pretty much all my life," he said. "Michigan Open Carry provides education for everyone. The laws can be very confusing."
Part of those laws includes the proper protocol for carrying a gun in public, which includes keeping it holstered at all times.
"Unless I have to use it," he added, but also said it is something he hopes he will never have to do.
"It's a tool I carry with me," he said. "I hope I will never need to use it, but when I am in public, no one can guarantee a crime is not going to happen."
Coming next: The pros and cons of carrying a gun.
It seems pretty clear to me Tuzinowski is talking about the ordinance(s) banning guns and/or carry thereof.
