The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Michigan open carry incident with Marysville police

Sefner · June 21, 2010, 08:53 AM

I started a thread on this. It can be found here: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412896

A lot of OCers in MI are being stopped under the pretense of "I don't know if you're a felon and it is illegal for a felon to carry a handgun thus I must check to see if you are a felon". This is not true, Terry v. Ohio and and AG opinion (from MI) have stated that openly carrying a handgun is not reasonable suspicion to stop a person. Someone on Michigan Open Carry forums put it best when they stated "Would the police stop a guy walking down the street holding a little girls hand because they don't know if he is a convicted sex offender and it is illegal for convicted sex offenders to have contact with children?" No, they wouldn't. Because they can't. That is also why you see the two carriers in the story refusing to give ID. Because in MI you don't have to give ID. When approached in this manner by this officers these two gentlemen asserted their rights rather than have this guy do whatever he wanted. They broke no laws. Also, no one ran screaming with the children, no babies began crying, and no one was even hurt.

June 21, 2010, 08:53 AM	#3
Sefner Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2009 Location: Michigan Posts: 769	I started a thread on this. It can be found here: http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=412896 A lot of OCers in MI are being stopped under the pretense of "I don't know if you're a felon and it is illegal for a felon to carry a handgun thus I must check to see if you are a felon". This is not true, Terry v. Ohio and and AG opinion (from MI) have stated that openly carrying a handgun is not reasonable suspicion to stop a person. Someone on Michigan Open Carry forums put it best when they stated "Would the police stop a guy walking down the street holding a little girls hand because they don't know if he is a convicted sex offender and it is illegal for convicted sex offenders to have contact with children?" No, they wouldn't. Because they can't. That is also why you see the two carriers in the story refusing to give ID. Because in MI you don't have to give ID. When approached in this manner by this officers these two gentlemen asserted their rights rather than have this guy do whatever he wanted. They broke no laws. Also, no one ran screaming with the children, no babies began crying, and no one was even hurt.