Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 14:47:19 -0500 (EST) From: Arlynn Afton <[g--l--t] at [wings.net]> To: Multiple recipients of list <[n--b--n] at [Mainstream.net]> Subject: Urbanik Decision Michigan Court Decision on Concealed Carry Case - On Wednesday, March 19, 1997, the Urbanik et al v. Frank J. Kelly Case (No. 96-522773-CZ Class Action Concerning Michigan Out-of-State CCW Law) was decided AGAINST the attorney general's opinion, which had previously denied Michigan RESIDENTS to legally carry a concealed handgun using a non-resident ccw permit from another state, even though Michigan recognizes out-of-state permits held by NON-RESIDENTS. It's difficult to suppress my ecstatic reaction to the news, however, I spoke with Ron Chapman, attorney for the class-action suit, and he stated that it is likely an appeal will be filed. He told me that the judge did NOT want to rule in favor of more people in Michigan carrying guns. However, the judge stated that the law is clearly un-ambiguous that he had no choice but to rule in favor of the law. Jim Church, (NRA Board Member) pointed out that it is a great victory that someone who is opposed to concealed carry ruled in favor of the law. Jim spoke with Attorney General Frank Kelley's office, and reported that the attorney he spoke with said that the ruling only applies to people who ALREADY have out-of-state permits! Further, that since a judge in Wayne County ruled in the Attorney General's favor previously there will be an appeal. Give it up, Mr. Kelley! We can also expect some shenanigans through the state legislature to support the anti-carry, anti-freedom, pro-criminal, crowd. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, attorney Ron Chapman does not have a copy of the decision. It has not been issued yet, and he said that it has to go through the process of being signed by the court, etc. and won't be available for a while. When it is available, you can obtain a copy through the court clerk's office. Please do not deluge his office with requests for copies of the decision. Ron has also asked that people make contributions for the legal fund payable to Gun Owners of Macomb County. They have not collected enough to cover the cost of this case, and the appeal costs will be additional. He said that other cases in the past have been lost in the appeals process because the funds were not there. Please send your contribution check, made out to Gun Owners of Macomb County, to: Attorney Ron Chapman, Chapman, Chapman & Associates 2690 Crooks Road, Ste. 307 Troy, Michigan 48084 --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI: non-resident permit from Florida costs $117.00. To obtain information to apply for a non-resident permit from Florida, contact: Florida Dept. of State Division of Licensing PO Box 6687 Tallahasee, FL 32314 or call: (904)488-5381 and they will send the information to you. -Arlynn Afton *********************************************** * * * Families of Michigan for Concealed Carry * * P.O. Box 2524 * * Grand Rapids, MI 49501-2524 * * * * * * Arlynn Afton * * Voice - (616) 243-4790 * * e-mail: [g--l--t] at [wings.net] * * To Receive Legislation: [b--l--s] at [wings.net] * * New! Subscribe to our FREE firearms legislation e-mail list. All federal firearms legislation will be transferred directly from the Government Printing Office files, used with permission. If bills are extremely large, you will receive an update to specifically request them, or we will only e-mail the sections related to firearms. We also hope to have all MICHIGAN firearms legislation as it becomes available. To subscribe, send your e-mail address to [b--l--s] at [wings.net] with one of the following choices as the "Subject": Subscribe: Federal Subscribe: Michigan Subscribe: Both ***********************************************