By: Teresa Mull

Michigan voters will be allowed to open carry at polling places this election season, a judge has ruled.

“A Michigan Court of Claims judge on Tuesday struck down Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s directive that sought to ban the open carry of firearms at polling places on Election Day,” CNN reports.

A group of pro-gun organizations filed a joint lawsuit against Benson and others to obtain an injunction against the order. Many Michigan sheriffs said they would not enforce the order.

“The main issue as the Court sees it is the allegation that the directive violates the APA [Administrative Procedures Act] because it is a rule that was not promulgated through the act’s procedures,” Judge Christopher Murray wrote in his decision. “A directive that is inconsistent with the law is not a directive but a rule requiring promulgation under the APA.”

GPM reported earlier this week that gun rights are under assault in other ways in Michigan. During last week’s legislative session, several Capitol insiders confirmed that the Republican legislative leadership of the Michigan House of Representatives started flirting with banning the lawful carry of firearms in Michigan’s Capitol building.

Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.