Eaton County Parks Dept.

imported post

Here is an update on another preemption violation case I have been working on. I was looking through the rules and regulations for Eaton County parks posted on the Eaton County website and I noticed the following ordinance:

19.1 No person shall, at any time bring on Commission property, have in his possession, discharge, or set off anywhere upon said properties, a revolver, pistol, shotgun, rifle, firearm, bow, or other weapon that discharges projectiles either by air, explosive substance, or any other force. Provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any deputy sheriff, police officer, park ranger, or other duly appointed law enforcement officer while carrying out the duties and responsibilities of their position.

http://www.eatoncounty.org/Departments/Eaton_County_Parks___Recreation/Rules_and_Regulations.htm

I informed the Eaton county parks Dept. and the Board of Commissioners that they were in violation of the Preemption act of 1990. On January 9th, I received this from the Director of the parks Department:

"We are currently working on an amendment to regulation 19.1 that should ensure our compliance with State Law. The amendment should be acted upon within the next couple months pending all the proper approvals and public notifications as outlined by State Statue for amending County Parks Commissions rules and regulations."

As of today the ordinance is still on their website and they haven't updated me on any progress as promised, if any has been taken. I will update this when any new info comes to my attention.

imported post

FWIW, it took 7 months when I took on Kzoo county on this one.

imported post

Here is the updated ordinance which is still a cluster F*** in my opinion.

Section 19 – Firearms and Other Weapons
19.1 No person shall have in their possession or control any slingshot, BB gun, paint ball guns, or explosives.
19.2 No person shall have in their possession or control any bow or arrow except by prior written permission of the Parks Commission.
19.3 No person shall discharge any rifle, shotgun, pellet gun, air rifle, pistol, or other firearm within any park for any reason except by prior written permission of the Parks Commission; this rule does not apply to any law enforcement officer acting in the course of his or her employment.

19.4 This Section does not prohibit the lawful possession and transportation of firearms as defined by State Law.




I have notified them that it would violate their ordinance to usea firearm in a self defense scenario. I guess one would need "prior written permission" to defendyourself against an attack.I'm waiting for a response from them.

imported post

Here is the response I received today:

Mr. ***:

The passage of any ordinance for Eaton County Parks goes through a series of
approvals at various committee and commission levels prior to being adopted by
the Eaton County Board of Commissioners. Part of this approval process includes
a review of all language by the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney office which
did occur prior to the language being adopted by the Eaton County Board of
Commissioners. Currently I am unaware of any additional steps or measures
required for adoption of such ordinances other than those outlined above.


The position of Eaton County Parks would be that any type of firearm discharged
within our boundaries without prior written approval would be a violation of the
ordinance. Our staff and personnel are not police officers or park police and
the responsibility to determine whether a discharged firearm was done so in self
defense would fall upon on the responding law enforcement agency and/or the
courts. Our staff and personnel seek voluntary compliance of our ordinances and
would request the assistance of law enforcement as necessary. We do not attempt
with our ordinance to address the use of a firearm in defense of ones self or
the state, but rather defer that action to the appropriate law enforcement
agency, the Michigan court system, and state law.

Please contact me if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding
this matter.


Thanks,
Dan

Dan Patton, Director
Eaton County Parks
133 Fitzgerald Park Dr.
Grand Ledge, MI 48837
(517) 627-7351
dpatton@eatoncounty.org
www.eatoncountyparks.org

What do you guys think about this? I am considering requestingwritten approvalfrom the parks dept.to discharge my firearm in case I am ever assaulted, being robbed, being attacked by a dog, etc.etc. Actually, I suggest everyone do in case you ever plan to visit an Eaton County Park.

imported post

Denny wrote:

What do you guys think about this?

Click to expand...

The parks guy isn't the one for you to bring this matter ofillegal county ordinancesto and get it changed. You need to bring itto the body that makescounty ordinancesand their attorney.

imported post

I already brought it to the attention of the board of commissioners, hence the update. They brought it into compliance with preemption but I still don't agree that they should have the partabout any discharge being a violation. They should have an exception for legal self defense.