Scooter
Regular Member
The family and I went to Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek MI.) this weekend. It is a great zoo and we gladly make the drive. I had not OC'd there before but was not concerned as I OC everywhere allowed by law (I have a CPL).
We entered and looked around as usual and then boarded the tram to the "Wild Africa" section of the zoo. The tram ride is a good 5 minute ride to the back of the property. No issues a few looks here and there but nothing noteworthy. We fed the giraffes and walked the trail. We were more than halfway down the trail when I was approached by one of the staff there. He said I was not allowed to carry a firearm there and asked if I could take it to my car. I explained how open carry was legal etc,..also there was no sign anywhere saying no firearms. He said he knew Open Carry was legal and they did not have signs up YET. He also said something about it being on their website.. He said he had just got a "call" about it and asked again if I would take it to my car. I said "uh,...well...my car is in the parking lot, I will return it when we head back up there.." He thanked me and was on his way. We walked the rest of the trail (you have to, it's set up that way) then waited for the tram back to the main zoo area.
I was trying to figure out who called on the way back...When we arrived back at the tram station it became a little obvious who it may have been. We were in the last car, when the tram unloaded at the station one of the staff guys was watching us like a hawk (about 5 feet away) I unloaded the stroller, 6 kids and wife. He walked up and said, pointing to his hip, "Did someone talk to you about that?". I replied "Yes" and we were on our way.
I exited the park with one of the kids and stored the gun in our van. We then re-entered and took a train ride and watched an amusing animal show.
I thought that would be all the interaction for the day.
When the show was over we had a chance to see some of the animals up close and talk to the trainers. As I was checking out the hawk with our baby the same guy who originally told me to take the gun to my car walked up with a printout of some of the MI. gun law! He showed me the "gun-free" list. I explained how I was exempt from that because of my CPL and OCing. He didn't know what to say. I said I understood that they are a private org. and can tell people to leave for any reason. He said "We are not telling, just asking" I reaffirmed my right to OC and we actually moved on to zoo related conversation. He was pleasant the entire time and I was not going to just leave after a long drive so I did not make a big issue out of it. I had even considered just leaving my gun in the van in the first place to avoid a problem since there was no history at this zoo. I am bummed that they have a "no gun" policy and don't know if I will go back. It's a nice zoo but I don't like being unarmed anywhere.
We entered and looked around as usual and then boarded the tram to the "Wild Africa" section of the zoo. The tram ride is a good 5 minute ride to the back of the property. No issues a few looks here and there but nothing noteworthy. We fed the giraffes and walked the trail. We were more than halfway down the trail when I was approached by one of the staff there. He said I was not allowed to carry a firearm there and asked if I could take it to my car. I explained how open carry was legal etc,..also there was no sign anywhere saying no firearms. He said he knew Open Carry was legal and they did not have signs up YET. He also said something about it being on their website.. He said he had just got a "call" about it and asked again if I would take it to my car. I said "uh,...well...my car is in the parking lot, I will return it when we head back up there.." He thanked me and was on his way. We walked the rest of the trail (you have to, it's set up that way) then waited for the tram back to the main zoo area.
I was trying to figure out who called on the way back...When we arrived back at the tram station it became a little obvious who it may have been. We were in the last car, when the tram unloaded at the station one of the staff guys was watching us like a hawk (about 5 feet away) I unloaded the stroller, 6 kids and wife. He walked up and said, pointing to his hip, "Did someone talk to you about that?". I replied "Yes" and we were on our way.
I exited the park with one of the kids and stored the gun in our van. We then re-entered and took a train ride and watched an amusing animal show.
I thought that would be all the interaction for the day.
When the show was over we had a chance to see some of the animals up close and talk to the trainers. As I was checking out the hawk with our baby the same guy who originally told me to take the gun to my car walked up with a printout of some of the MI. gun law! He showed me the "gun-free" list. I explained how I was exempt from that because of my CPL and OCing. He didn't know what to say. I said I understood that they are a private org. and can tell people to leave for any reason. He said "We are not telling, just asking" I reaffirmed my right to OC and we actually moved on to zoo related conversation. He was pleasant the entire time and I was not going to just leave after a long drive so I did not make a big issue out of it. I had even considered just leaving my gun in the van in the first place to avoid a problem since there was no history at this zoo. I am bummed that they have a "no gun" policy and don't know if I will go back. It's a nice zoo but I don't like being unarmed anywhere.