Local School District to Appeal Judge’s Ruling Allowing Father to Openly Carry

A school district in Genesee County says they will appeal a judge's decision that allows a father to openly carry a pistol inside his daughter's school.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Clio Area School District's Board of Education met on Tuesday night and voted 6-0 to appeal the case to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Archie Hayman had ruled in favor of Kenneth Herman and gun right's advocacy group Michigan Open Carry on Monday. Herman had filed a lawsuit in March against the Clio district saying he had been denied access to Edgerton Elementary multiple times while trying to pick up his daughter because he was carrying his pistol openly.

After the vote, Clio Area School District Superintendent Fletcher Spears says the Michigan legislature also needs to remove ambiguity in the state law that allows some to openly carry guns in school. The Clio case is just one of the several in the state that have been filed against school districts over gun free zones. Spears said the legislature "needs to step up and get the focus on education, not some guy who wants to carry a gun in a school." Spears added he is a lifelong member of the NRA and a holder of a concealed-pistol license himself, however, he has strong feeling about guns in schools saying "open carry does not have a place in the schools." In the past, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has also vetoed legislation that would allow concealed weapons in schools.

What are your thoughts on open carry in schools?