GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The DeVos Place Convention Center currently prohibits all guns, even for those with concealed and open carry permits, but after a woman was asked to remove her weapon during a weekend expo, advocates are claiming that the ban is in violation of the law.
Over the weekend, a woman attending the Women's Expo at DeVos Place was asked to remove her weapon. Tom Lambert of Michigan Open Carry says Michigan law allows for gun bans in places like sports arenas and stadiums, but doesn't clearly ban them from convention centers.
Lambert says the issue is almost identical to a dispute in 2012 where the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned a weapons ban by a Lansing library. He's hoping the ban will be lifted not only at DeVos Place, but also DeVos Performance Hall and Van Andel Arena.
We contacted SMG, the management company that runs DeVos Place and the other venues, but we have not yet heard back from them. Lambert says his group is discussing the issue with their attorney to decide how to move forward.
