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Greetings from Michigan

fire suppressor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
870
Location
Kitsap County
Hello Washington friends,

Last I posted I had planed on moving to South Dakota, I won't go into all the details but life is full of surprises and I have found myself a resident of Michigan. It's not bad here in fact it looks a lot like Western Washington. The culture here is interesting, guns in general are more excepted and no one really cares because most people own at least a few. The issue of open carry however is much different than in Seattle. There seems to be much more arrogance on both sides of the fence. The pro gun pro open carry people want to tell me exactly what the laws are without even knowing what they are themselves and the antis want to lay into you like its Sunday morning church. What I have found over this last month, in my personal experience a good majority of both pro gun and anti gun folks will tell you open carry is legal and acknowledge it as legal then both sides will start to tell you why its wrong, dangerous and stupid. The local open carry group in my area has not been as open and inviting as what I had back home and it is really making me thankful for the community and support in the general Seattle area. I will not go into details as it is not my intention to bash Michigan open carry folks but some of the thread responses and PMs I got after I introduced myself surprised me. After five years of almost constant carry it feels almost out of body for me to go about my day without my Springfield. I have been reading up on sate laws and am starting to gain a foundation, the MCLs are similar to the RCWs but there are also a lot of differences. You can open carry in Michigan without a CPL but with some restrictions and the next CPL class is not until December so I have a few more weeks to go.

I just wanted to take a moment and say hello to everyone and give thanks to the community and all those who have helped me out over the years. Our cause is a hard road to trail down and the road is not always a smooth and easy one. Regardless of where I end up Washington is still home so you will continue to see me once and awhile. I am thankful for all of you Washington was a great place to grow and mature as a open carry individual. It gave the confidence and experience I will need anywhere I go
 

sudden valley gunner

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
16,674
Location
Whatcom County
Hello Washington friends,

Last I posted I had planed on moving to South Dakota, I won't go into all the details but life is full of surprises and I have found myself a resident of Michigan. It's not bad here in fact it looks a lot like Western Washington. The culture here is interesting, guns in general are more excepted and no one really cares because most people own at least a few. The issue of open carry however is much different than in Seattle. There seems to be much more arrogance on both sides of the fence. The pro gun pro open carry people want to tell me exactly what the laws are without even knowing what they are themselves and the antis want to lay into you like its Sunday morning church. What I have found over this last month, in my personal experience a good majority of both pro gun and anti gun folks will tell you open carry is legal and acknowledge it as legal then both sides will start to tell you why its wrong, dangerous and stupid. The local open carry group in my area has not been as open and inviting as what I had back home and it is really making me thankful for the community and support in the general Seattle area. I will not go into details as it is not my intention to bash Michigan open carry folks but some of the thread responses and PMs I got after I introduced myself surprised me. After five years of almost constant carry it feels almost out of body for me to go about my day without my Springfield. I have been reading up on sate laws and am starting to gain a foundation, the MCLs are similar to the RCWs but there are also a lot of differences. You can open carry in Michigan without a CPL but with some restrictions and the next CPL class is not until December so I have a few more weeks to go.

I just wanted to take a moment and say hello to everyone and give thanks to the community and all those who have helped me out over the years. Our cause is a hard road to trail down and the road is not always a smooth and easy one. Regardless of where I end up Washington is still home so you will continue to see me once and awhile. I am thankful for all of you Washington was a great place to grow and mature as a open carry individual. It gave the confidence and experience I will need anywhere I go

Thanks for stopping by and keeping us posted. Good luck in your travels, maybe you can help change their OC culture!
 

SeattleWingsfan

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
188
Location
Lakewood, Washington, United States
Where abouts did you end up. I lived in Livingston county most of my life. Btw if you still have your WA CPL. There is reciprocity. I'll be carrying when I fly home for Christmas.

If you've already changed to Michigan residency, I'm not sure it still works. If not maybe you can have Washington switch you from resident to non resident.
 
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fire suppressor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
870
Location
Kitsap County
Where abouts did you end up. I lived in Livingston county most of my life. Btw if you still have your WA CPL. There is reciprocity. I'll be carrying when I fly home for Christmas.

I am in East Bay township about 20 minutes from Traverse city. It is a nice enough area I have found some of the people in town to be a little on the rude side but the people out in Grand Traverse County are nice. Can you please expand of the reciprocity? I have my Washington CPL and Utah non resident but after looking into the MCLs I thought Michigan will only except Michigan. I did find a reciprocity stating Michigan will honor out of state CPLs if you are visiting but now that I have claimed residency I do not think I could get away using that law.
 

Jared

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
892
Location
Michigan, USA
Hello Washington friends,

Last I posted I had planed on moving to South Dakota, I won't go into all the details but life is full of surprises and I have found myself a resident of Michigan. It's not bad here in fact it looks a lot like Western Washington. The culture here is interesting, guns in general are more excepted and no one really cares because most people own at least a few. The issue of open carry however is much different than in Seattle. There seems to be much more arrogance on both sides of the fence. The pro gun pro open carry people want to tell me exactly what the laws are without even knowing what they are themselves and the antis want to lay into you like its Sunday morning church. What I have found over this last month, in my personal experience a good majority of both pro gun and anti gun folks will tell you open carry is legal and acknowledge it as legal then both sides will start to tell you why its wrong, dangerous and stupid. The local open carry group in my area has not been as open and inviting as what I had back home and it is really making me thankful for the community and support in the general Seattle area. I will not go into details as it is not my intention to bash Michigan open carry folks but some of the thread responses and PMs I got after I introduced myself surprised me. After five years of almost constant carry it feels almost out of body for me to go about my day without my Springfield. I have been reading up on sate laws and am starting to gain a foundation, the MCLs are similar to the RCWs but there are also a lot of differences. You can open carry in Michigan without a CPL but with some restrictions and the next CPL class is not until December so I have a few more weeks to go.

I just wanted to take a moment and say hello to everyone and give thanks to the community and all those who have helped me out over the years. Our cause is a hard road to trail down and the road is not always a smooth and easy one. Regardless of where I end up Washington is still home so you will continue to see me once and awhile. I am thankful for all of you Washington was a great place to grow and mature as a open carry individual. It gave the confidence and experience I will need anywhere I go

Washington is the way it is because of all the hard work my buddy Gray Peterson (Lonnie Wilson) put in out there.

Michigan's open carry isn't quite as you put it, but things here have gotten much better over the past few years due to the hard work and dedication of Michigan Open Carry.

For any questions I recommend www.migunowners.org as the forum is pretty active and more Michigan centric over there, although some frequent here as well.

Welcome to Michigan.
 

Jared

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
892
Location
Michigan, USA
I am in East Bay township about 20 minutes from Traverse city. It is a nice enough area I have found some of the people in town to be a little on the rude side but the people out in Grand Traverse County are nice. Can you please expand of the reciprocity? I have my Washington CPL and Utah non resident but after looking into the MCLs I thought Michigan will only except Michigan. I did find a reciprocity stating Michigan will honor out of state CPLs if you are visiting but now that I have claimed residency I do not think I could get away using that law.

You can not conceal carry or carry in a vehicle without a Michigan CPL now that you have become a resident. I would apply for your MI CPL ASAP.

Not sure how the gun board is out in Grand Traverse, but you can ask for a temporary CPL.
 

sudden valley gunner

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
16,674
Location
Whatcom County
Washington is the way it is because of all the hard work my buddy Gray Peterson (Lonnie Wilson) put in out there.

Michigan's open carry isn't quite as you put it, but things here have gotten much better over the past few years due to the hard work and dedication of Michigan Open Carry.

For any questions I recommend www.migunowners.org as the forum is pretty active and more Michigan centric over there, although some frequent here as well.

Welcome to Michigan.

I don't want to take away from Gray's efforts but I disagree. Washington is the way it is because of the people here and those who actively OC here.
 

jmlefler

Regular Member
Joined
May 19, 2008
Messages
287
Location
Southwest, Michigan, USA
It's always interesting to get someone's opinion that is outside my usual circle. We just had an OC event here in Kalamazoo and I found all the folks to be welcoming; some coming as far as Monroe.

Carry on
 

hermannr

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
2,327
Location
Okanogan Highland
I am in East Bay township about 20 minutes from Traverse city. It is a nice enough area I have found some of the people in town to be a little on the rude side but the people out in Grand Traverse County are nice. Can you please expand of the reciprocity? I have my Washington CPL and Utah non resident but after looking into the MCLs I thought Michigan will only except Michigan. I did find a reciprocity stating Michigan will honor out of state CPLs if you are visiting but now that I have claimed residency I do not think I could get away using that law.

It is my understanding of MI that you can use your out-of-state CPL, if it is from the state you live in, so yes, you cann carry on your WA CPL, but only if you are still considered a WA resident. I do not know what MI requires for you to be a MI resident, but at that point, you WA CPL will no longer be good in MI (but it will still be good everywhere else...a WA non-resident CPL is exactly the same as a resident CPL...you don't even have to change the address on it (unless you wish to) until you renew it. MI does not recognise non-resident CPL's.

I would suggest you visit www.handgunlaw.us ...while not it is specifically for licensed CC and not for OC, it does have a lot of the law set out in as plain English as you can find...that and Gary works hard at keeping it up to date.
 
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