Quick Legal Facts
Statewide Preemption:
No.
Concealed Carry:
Fixed blade knives may not be carried concealed or carried in a vehicle, subject to a few very limited exceptions.
Schools:
Schools are weapons free zones in Michigan.
Major Cities with Knife Ordinances:
Detroit and Lansing
Restricted Knives:
There are no forbidden or prohibited knives under Michigan state law. Knives are not mentioned in 750.224 which pertains to weapons that cannot be manufactured, sold, or possessed.
Pocketknives are not restricted under Michigan state law. The prohibition on automatic knives was removed in October 2017. Fixed blade knives may be carried openly. Double-edged, fixed blade knives, or “double-edged non-folding stabbing instruments” are disfavored in Michigan. It is a felony punishable by imprisonment up to 5 years and a fine not to exceed $2,500 to carry any “dagger, dirk, stiletto, double-edged, non-folding stabbing instrument” concealed. The same prohibition also applies to any other dangerous weapon; or the possession of such items “in any vehicle operated or occupied by the person”.
Relevant statutes:
750.222a.Doubled-edged, non-folding stabbing instruments (pertains to items fashioned from stone by knapping or conchoidal fracturing)
750.226.Armed with intent to use dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument
750.227.Concealed weapons, carrying
750.231. Exceptions to 750.224, 750.224a, 750.224b, 750.224d, 750.227, 750.227c, and 750.227d
750.237a.Weapon free school zones; violations and penalties; applicability
380.1313.Reporting and disposition of dangerous weapons found in possession of pupils
Statewide Preemption:
No, local knife restrictive laws are not preempted by state law. Detroit and Lansing are among selected Michigan municipalities with a knife restrictive ordinance
Restrictions on Sale or Transfer:
None noted
Concealed Carry:
It is unlawful to conceal carry a dagger, dirk, stiletto, double-edged non folding stabbing instrument, or any other “dangerous weapon”
Restrictions on Carry in Specific Locations / Circumstances:
Schools K-12, including private or parochial, and school buses are weapon-free zones.
- Concealment
The concealment standard in Michigan is based on decisional law (decision by the Jury). Absolute invisibility is not required to establish concealment. Do not assume that pocket clip carry is “open carry”.
State v Jones 162 N.W. 2d 847 (1968) is a good example: “a weapon is concealed when it is not discernible by the ordinary observation of persons coming in contact with the person carrying it, casually observing him, as people do in the ordinary and usual associations of life.”
- Daggers and Double-Edged Non-Folding Stabbing Instruments
Michigan law 750.227, states:
(1) A person shall not carry a dagger, dirk, stiletto, a double-edged nonfolding stabbing instrument of any length, or any other dangerous weapon, except a hunting knife adapted and carried as such, concealed on or about his or her person, or whether concealed or otherwise in any vehicle operated or occupied by the person, except in his or her dwelling house, place of business or on other land possessed by the person.
A case involving a “throwing knife” illustrates the distinction between daggers, and non-folding stabbing instrument, and any other dangerous weapon.
One John Lynn was operating a motor vehicle when he was stopped because of “loud exhaust.” The arresting officer then learned that his operator’s license had been suspended and that he did not have the required insurance on the vehicle. A search incident to arrest revealed marijuana and two fixed blade knives with an overall length of 14 inches.
Lynn was convicted by the Kalamazoo Circuit Court (trial level) on several charges including 750.227 (1). The evidence concerning the knives included the fact that while knives were double-edged, and not designed for stabbing, they could be used to stab. They appealed the weapon conviction to the Court of Appeals argued that “double-edged nonfolding stabbing instrument was vague”. The Court of Appeals (intermediate appeal level) reversed the weapon conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. The prosecution sought review of the remand by the Michigan Supreme Court which reversed the Court of Appeals in its decision People v Lynn, 586 N.W. 2d 534 (1998). The Supreme court stated: “750.227 (1) in effect provides that several categories of knives and stabbing instruments are dangerous weapons per se. If the jury finds that the object is a ‘dagger,’ ‘dirk,’ ‘stiletto,’ or a ‘double-edged nonfolding stabbing instrument,’ no further inquiry is required regarding whether the item is within the class of weapons the carrying of which in a vehicle is prohibited.”
- “Any other dangerous weapon”
The wording of 750.227 (1) has been difficult for Michigan courts. It lists daggers, dirks, and double-edged non-folding stabbing instruments and then mentions in the same sentence “any other dangerous weapon except a hunting knife adapted and carried as such.”
- “A hunting knife adopted and carried as such”
The Michigan Court of Appeals in the case of People v Payne, 446 N.W.2d 629 (1989) held that a double-edged fixed blade knife cannot be considered for the hunting knife exception. The exemption was not allowed in the case of People v Wright, 296 N.W. 2d 46 (1980) where the defendant carried a fixed-blade knife concealed while he was in the Lansing, Michigan, City Hall. He was not attired for hunting and it was not hunting season.
- Armed With Intent
Concealment is not an element of 750.226. This section applies to the knives restricted under 750.227 and includes any knife “having a blade over 3 inches in length”. A violation occurs if one goes armed with intent to use the weapon unlawfully against another. To “go armed” simply requires that the person moves from one location to another with the weapon and that he had unlawful intent when departing from the first location. People v Mitchell 835 N.W. 2d 615 (2013).
- Law Enforcement and Military
Michigan law 750.231 provides exemptions from the 750.227 restriction for law enforcement and military members. The exemption extends to members of the Reserves while attending, or traveling to and from, drills or places of assembly. This section does not apply to the weapon-free school zones, although 750.237a provides exemption specific to schools.
- Consequences
Unlawful carrying offenses under 750.226 and 750.277 are felonies under Michigan law. The maximum penalty can be imprisonment up to 5 years and/or a fine not to exceed $2,500.
