Q: Is it legal to carry, either open or concealed, on properties under control of the National Park Service in Michigan - including Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore, Manitou Island, Isle Royal and etc.? Does the Michigan self defense act apply in these places? I had a co-worker camping on Manitou Island harassed by an overzealous park ranger demanding to search their tents for weapons. They had none and refused the search. He eventually backed down and nothing further happened.A: The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Section 512, P.L. 111-24 ), which was passed by Congress and signed by the President in May 2009, provides:
"The Secretary of the Interior shall not promulgate or enforce any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm including an assembled or functional firearm in any unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System if
(1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm;
(2) and the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the State in which the unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System is located."
Do keep in mind that firearm possession is still illegal in federal buildings (18 U.S.C. 930(g)(1)), so an armed visitor could not use any of the ranger offices, visitor centers, or sponsored tours.
The NPS has published a booklet entitled "Firearms In Parks."
Firearms can be carried in 372 out of 392 federally ran park facilities. The facilities where they can't be carried is due to state gun laws. All of the federal parks in Michigan allow firearm carry, as allowed by Michigan state law.
Your friends should have lodged a complaint against the offending ranger.
Disclaimer
You are strongly encouraged to not only conduct your own independent research but to also consult with a competent and qualified attorney before acting upon any information in this article. Laws covering self-defense, lethal force, firearms, and the Michigan Concealed Pistol License and their enforcement are always subject to change due to laws being amended, politics conducted in the Prosecutor's Office, and election results at all levels of government. Ignorance of the law, legally speaking, is not a valid excuse for running afoul of it. The penalties and fines imposed upon violators of firearms related offenses are stiff and severe.
About The Author
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit. Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, UPI, NRAnews, Guns Digest, Tactical-Life, The Truth About Guns, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, The Detroit Examiner, WJLB, WGPR, and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
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