Committee Approves Policy for Guns in Workplace

Jackson County, Michigan, is in the midst of a debate over whether or not to allow employees and contractors to carry pistols on county property, according to an article from M Live.

The revised policy on workplace violence was unanimously approved by the County Police Committee on Monday, March 12, and will go before the full Board of Commissioners for action next week. According to the article, the debate started in early 2012, when some commissioners argued that it was not fair to ban licensed employees from bearing arms, because that ban does not apply to the general public on most county properties.

Although many county department heads are against the movement, commissioners believe that banning employees from carrying thier handguns is interfering with their constitutional rights, M Live reports. Commissioner David Elwell, chief of the Columbia Township Police Department said: "I just think people have a right to protect themselves, and I don't think the workplace should be an exception."

On the other side, Commissioner Michael Way says "I agree everybody has a right to carry guns, but I don't think we should openly allow it at work."

Guns would still be banned in certain county facilties, such as the courthouse, and employees carrying guns would be subject to work rules such as a ban on carrying the gun in plain sight, or "open carry."

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