Hello, please help any advice is great guns confiscated

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ag3nt

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Hello long time lurker first time poster. Today my girl and i along with another couple went to some state land in southeast mi, we had a glock 19 (my girls) a m&p9mm and a m&p15-22 rifle both mine. we shot some targets safely for about 2 hours then left. We were pulled over immediatly by rifle point by local police forced onto the gravel face first and handcuffed and searched. I understand they wanted to make things safe and we were legal, which my girl and i both have our cpl. our guests didnt however. clean records all around. I guess someonemade a complaint about gunfire. After about an hour he told me i cant shoot on state land ande confiscated my guns (all 3 ) because he said they were unregistered. had my pistol for about 3 months my girls had hers a few weeks and the rifle is 3 days old. i have receipts and paperwork.

will I ever see my property again?
thank you all for your time


btw m&p-was in center console - glock was in her purse rifle was unloaded in the trunk
 
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by the way im completely unarmed and feel naked (my shoulder hurts an ihave handcuff marks 4 hours later but i understand the situation) i thought it was legal to shoot on state land
 
MI as in "Michigan"... Sounds like you failed to adhere to the laws of the land (unregistered firearms) so you likely don't have a leg to stand on to get them back...
Draconian as the law may be, you have to play by their rules...

BTW, most states do not have such laws... I live, intentionally, in one of those...

Brent
 
he said prove with us there yours (paperwork) and u can have em, nut this whole thing seems weird fishy, i know ignorance of the law does not make it ok i did this i understand i should have investigated more before going
 
Mia Culpa... Your initial post did not clearly state you registered them but failed to carry paperwork...

Possibly showing the paperwork to the PD may get them back...

Brent
 
sorry bout that, im an honest citizen i figured it was implied that im legal and have all documentation, but thats where im at i dont know this situation at all and never heard of anything like this, i thought id get a fine or something, has anyone ever dealt with this??
 
Come mornin' your thread will get some coverage... Most of our sage legal minds are quick to bed early to rise types... Be patient, Grasshopper...;)

Brent
 
Where exactly were you? It depends on what state land you were on. IIRC state recreation areas, Target shooting is prohibited even if hunting is allowed. It has to be specific areas to shoot (State game areas etc...) I can't remember exactly because the only public area I shoot at is the pit in lapeer.
As for confiscating your guns. Welcome to the DNR. They have more unbridled power than any police agency. Good luck. Call a lawyer
ETA* missed the part where you said its local pd. That's crap there yours you were legally carrying them. Take your ri60s in and get your stuff back. As for the rifle hopefully you have the reciept. If it wasn't reported stolen they shouldn't have taken it.

PS My gut is saying there is more to this story. Maybe it the gut of a cynical old ghetto medic, but my gut is right more than wrong.
 
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Didn't realize you meant another thread here on TFL, so since the other one is closed...

Quote:
A License to Purchase a Pistol is valid for 10 days to purchase a pistol. The seller must sign the license and keep one copy for his/her records. An individual must keep a copy and return two copies to the local police department within 10 days of purchasing the pistol.

Did you return the copies?

or

Quote:
There is an exception for a person licensed in Michigan to carry a concealed pistol. He or she must obtain a Pistol Sales Record (RI-060) any time he or she purchases or otherwise acquires a pistol, pursuant to MCL 28.422a.

Do you have your records to take to court?
 
The police report should be available shortly. That may give us some context as to what you've been charged with, and what action might be taken.

Without further information, all we can really do is speculate, and that's not very productive.
 
update....... just got back from the trip out there to pick them up.... they were magically registered when i got there.. not 12 hours ago but just now they were hmmmmm. ive contacted a lawyer i believe they violated my rights..........my guns are back though

servo- not arrested no ticket nothing, i was literally put in handcuffs until the searched my car-forgot what thats called
 
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Good news.

So, if you live in a state where firearm registration is required how does that work? Are they in some type of LEO accessible database? Are you issued some type of documentation you have to carry with you?
 
Still feels like something is missing here.

There still should be an incident report generated for a detention and seizure of property. That would be a good place to start, by getting the report number so your lawyer can get copies.
 
Ag3nt said:
sorry bout that, im an honest citizen i figured it was implied that im legal and have all documentation ...
a) Nothing is implied on the Internet. If you don't say it ... it isn't said.

b) You could be 100 percent legal and still not have documentation. I keep all receipts for firearms in an envelope in my gun safe -- except that about a year ago that envelope went walk-about. I am 100 percent legal for every firearm I own ... but I don't have documentation to prove it. The oldest was my grandfather's .22 rifle, which is now mine. No receipt for a gift from my grandfather, of course, but entirely legal. Next oldest is a .22 revolver I bought before all the paperwork requirements came into being. I haven't seen the receipt for that one in nearly 50 years, but it was all bought and paid for from a legitimate FFL gun shop.
 
ag3nt: said:
ive contacted a lawyer i believe they violated my rights

You got caught leaving a public place where you just broke local laws by firing a weapon on public land (target shooting). You were handcuffed because you were armed and had just broken some laws. They confiscated your weapons that you used to break the law. You got your guns back when you went in & proved that they were legal. Where were your rights trampled on? You don't have the right to break laws and not pay a price for it. Not knowing that it is illegal to shoot firearms on public land doesn't change that.

If it were me I'd be thankful that I didn't have to spend the night in jail & thankful that I got my firearms back. Your rights would be violated if they had stopped you for no apparent reason and cuffed you & confiscated your guns. Trouble is that you were leaving an area where you had just broken their laws.
 
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^^^^^^^^^ What he said:


"If it were me I'd be thankful that I didn't have to spend the night in jail & thankful that I got my firearms back"


No go forth and don't do silly-stuff again. Shooting on public land against the regs makes us all look bad. Don't make us all look bad. In many states you would have forfeited your arms forever, and been fined at the very least. You got off easy.


Willie


.
 
ag3nt said:
update....... just got back from the trip out there to pick them up.... they were magically registered when i got there.. not 12 hours ago but just now they were hmmmmm. ive contacted a lawyer i believe they violated my rights..........my guns are back though

servo- not arrested no ticket nothing, i was literally put in handcuffs until the searched my car-forgot what thats called
You have your firearms back, and you did NOT get cited for breaking the law. I don't think your rights were violated. I think they cut you at least a couple of breaks and I strongly suggest that you give thanks to the deity of your choice for getting off so lightly, and drop the matter.

I'm sure others here will join me in expressing the hope that this incident will serve as a reminder that breaking laws carries consequences. Just as I posted about not assuming anything on the Internet, likewise you cannot assume anything in real life. I don't know why you thought ("assumed") it was legal to shoot on state land, but I'm fairly certain a quick Internet search of your state's web site would have taken you to some agency's page informing you that it is NOT legal. owning, carrying and shooting deadly weapons is an awesome responsibility. We who exercise our 2nd Amendment rights really can't "assume" anything.
 
If it were me I'd be thankful that I didn't have to spend the night in jail & thankful that I got my firearms back. Your rights would be violated if they had stopped you for no apparent reason and cuffed you & confiscated your guns. Trouble is that you were leaving an area where you had just broken their laws

ET. is giving you sage advise, You were completely in the wrong and still wasn't charged with any of the violations got your guns back and now you are contacting a lawyer because you think your rights have been violated .
Chalk it up as lesson learned be thankful and move on!
 
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