Michigan public schools can ban guns from their premises, the state appeals court ruled last month, rejecting a challenge by gun rights groups and parents who are licensed to carry firearms.
In a 3-0 decision, the court said schools are “broadly empowered” by lawmakers to adopt policies that keep students safe. It found that the Ann Arbor and Clio districts are not in conflict with a state law that prohibits local governments from regulating gun possession.
“The presence of guns in schools runs contrary to everything we are wired for in education, and is counterproductive to maintaining a rich, productive, and healthy learning environment for our children,” the Ann Arbor district said in reaction to the court’s opinion.
Jim Makowski, a lawyer for Michigan Gun Owners Inc. and Ann Arbor parent Ulysses Wong, said he’ll ask the Michigan Supreme Court to consider the case. He said the appeals court should have applied a 2012 decision that found that public libraries can’t regulate guns.
In 2013, the state supreme court turned down an appeal and let the decision stand in the Lansing-area library case.
