Detroit Free-Press: Court decision a win for gun owners

5:23pm Thursday, September 04, 2003

September 3, 2003

In a victory for gun owners, the Michigan Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a lower court decision that cities can't ban handguns from city halls, libraries and other public buildings.

The decision gives a victory to a statewide gun-rights group that challenged a 2001 ban by Ferndale on guns in city buildings.

In a 3-0 decision, a panel of Michigan Court of Appeals judges ruled in May that communities can't add restrictions to state rules on where gun owners can carry a weapon.

Gun-rights groups praised both the appeals court and state Supreme Court's Friday decision, including the Lansing-based Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO), which sued Ferndale to overturn its ordinance.

"As MCRGO basks in yet another victory for law-abiding gun owners everywhere, it is important to remember that significant challenges remain" said Charles Perricone, the group's executive director on its Web site, http://mcrgo.org.

The decision means that signs banning guns in Ferndale's library and the Saline City Hall, among others, must come down.

Ferndale Mayor Bob Porter said the decision in Lansing put an end for the time being to his city's efforts to keep the ordinance on its books. Porter said signs banning guns in Ferndale's city buildings would come down this week.

The decision "means that somebody packing a gun can walk into our police department or our code enforcement offices or our council chambers. Look at what happened in New York in July," Porter said, referring to the recent fatal shooting of a city council member.

Commentary:
Yeah, Mayor Bob. Look at what happened in New York City Hall - all those liberal anti-gun laws, and a criminal still managed to commit his horrible acts - until an armed person stopped him.

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Gov. Taft recently spent time with MI Gov. Granholm in Washington D.C. They were there to investigate the Great 2003 Northeast Blackout (which Taft avoided by staying on vacation in Quebec). Let's hope she worked in a few words about the success of Michigan's CCW law to date.