The Michigan Supreme Court has found that school districts have the ability to prevent guns from being brought onto school property.
The ruling came in two cases that were combined before the court, Michigan Gun Owners, Inc. v Ann Arbor Public Schools and Michigan Open Carry, Inc. v Clio Area Public Schools.
The plaintiffs had argued that school districts were not allowed to regulate firearms on school property because of a state law that said local government units could not regulate the possession of firearms.
However, the court found that school districts could regulate firearm possession because they were not explicitly mentioned in the statute.
The statute, MCL 123.1102, prohibits a local unit of government from regulating firearms except as otherwise provided by federal or state law and defines “local unit of government” as “a city, village, township, or county.”
The court found that by excluding school districts from the statute, the legislature gave them the power to regulate firearm possession in areas under their control.
