DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, Mich. (Photo courtesy of DeVos Place)
Rich MacKeigan, regional general manager for SMG, the venue management company that oversees operations at DeVos Place and DeVos Performance Hall, has now had signs posted at the doorways to those Grand Rapids, Mich., facilities that expressly disallow weapons. Signs at another SMG-managed venue in the city, the Van Andel Arena, had previously been posted at every doorway.
The signage is in response to an incident on March 11 when two people staffing the Michigan Open Carry and Michigan Gun Owners booth at the Women’s Expo in DeVos Place were asked to take their openly carried firearms out of the building or else leave the premises. They complied with the request, took their guns out of the building, and returned to work the expo.
The state of Michigan currently prohibits gun owners with permits to carry concealed weapons in places disallowing weapons but does not prohibit the open carrying of firearms in the same kind of places. However, owners and managers of privately-owned venues may determine their own policies regarding guns.
DeVos Place is owned by the Grand Rapids City-County Building Authority, an entity referred to in Grand Rapids municipal establishing legislation as a “corporation,” and operated by the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, an entity established by Public Act 203 in 1999 and a Kent County resolution the following year.
The convention center at Devos Place has more than 230,000 square feet of meeting space; the DeVos Performance Hall can seat 2,400.
Gun legislation in Michigan continues to develop. The Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee approved State Senate Bills 442 and 561 last October, legislation that would make open carry illegal in the state and make carrying a concealed weapon legal – essentially reversing the current situation regarding each type of carry. The legislation still must pass the full Senate and House, however, and Gov. Rick Snyder has publicly vowed to veto any bill that enhances concealed weapons carrying privileges.