STATE OF MICHIGAN

FRANK J. KELLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion No. 6255

November 16, 1984

CRIMINAL LAW:

Licensure of private security guard to carry or transport concealed weapon on the job

PRIVATE SECURITY GUARD ACT:

Unlicensed private security guard, uniformed or non-uniformed, carrying concealed weapon on the job

A private security guard not licensed under 1968 PA 330, whether uniformed or non-uniformed, may not carry a concealed weapon on the job without being licensed to do so pursuant to 1927 PA 372.

Mr. Robert E. Weiss

Prosecuting Attorney

Genesee County

100 Court House

Flint, MI 48502

You have requested my opinion on the following two questions:

In your request you state that you are seeking clarification on whether OAG, 1979-1980, No 5814, p 1071 (November 13, 1980), applies only to those persons licensed under the Private Security Guard Act of 1968, supra. One of the questions considered in that opinion asked whether a licensed private security guard may carry a concealed pistol on the job and to and from work without a concealed weapons license. OAG, 1979-1980, No 5814, supra, relying upon a letter opinion addressed to Colonel Gerald L. Hough, Director of the Department of State Police, dated February 3, 1978, concluded that a licensed private security guard may not carry a concealed weapon on the job or transport a concealed weapon to or from work without first being licensed to carry a concealed weapon pursuant to 1927 PA 372; MCLA 28.421 et seq; MSA 28.91 st seq.

1927 PA 372, supra, Sec. 2, provides that, subject to expressly enumerated exceptions in 1927 PA 372, supra, Sec. 12a, no person shall purchase, carry, or transport a pistol defined by 1927 PA 372, supra, Sec. 1a, as any firearm 30 inches or less in length, or any firearm which, by its construction and appearance, conceals it as a firearm without first having obtained a license therefor. 1927 PA 372, Sec. 12a, supra, exempts certain individuals from the requirement of obtaining a license and includes peace officers of duly authorized police agencies, regularly employed and compensated constables who have received statutory training, and certification, authorized employees of the Department of Corrections, members of the armed forces while carrying weapons in the line of duty, members of other duly authorized military organizations while on duty or in training, persons licensed to carry a pistol concealed upon their person pursuant to a license issued by another state, and persons carrying a pistol unloaded in a wrapper or container in the trunk of their vehicle from the place of purchase to their home or place of business or to a place of repair or back to their home or place of business. It does not exempt private security guards.

It is noted that 1968 PA 380, supra, Sec. 19(3), provides that a person licensed as a private security guard is not authorized to carry a deadly weapon unless he or she is licensed to do so. While 1968 PA 330, supra, Sec. 29, expressly provides that private security police employed for the purpose of guarding the property and employees of their employer may be furnished a pistol for such purposes, it does not authorize the unlicensed private security police to conceal the pistol on their persons. It should also be observed that a private security guard carrying an unconcealed weapon on the premises of his or her employer must be uniformed. ⁽¹⁾

It is, therefore, my opinion that a private security guard, not licensed under 1968 PA 330, supra, whether uniformed or non-uniformed, may not carry a concealed weapon on the job without being licensed to do so.

Frank J. Kelley