Weapons to be Claimed in Michigan Crime Lab by January, 2021

Image screenshot from Michigan State Police, cropped, and scaled by Dean Weingarten

Every month, the Michigan State Police (MSP) are required to publish a list of firearms the state intends to dispose of. These are firearms which have not been claimed. The publication is notice to any owners of the firearms so they may be claimed. Here is the notice from the site. Public Notice of Intent to Dispose of Firearms site

Public Notice of Intent to Dispose of Firearms

The information below identifies firearm(s) confiscated by a Michigan law enforcement agency and turned over to the Michigan State Police (MSP) pursuant to MCL 28.434 and MCL 750.239.

List of Weapons To Be Destroyed After 12/1/2020 (public notice date: 11/2/2020)

List of Weapons To Be Destroyed After 1/1/2021 (public notice date:  12/1/2020)

If you are claiming ownership of any firearm(s) listed, please write or call within thirty (30) days of the date of public notice. In addition to your ownership claim, you must be authorized to possess firearms.

If no valid ownership claim is received by MSP within thirty (30) days of the date of public notice, the firearm(s) listed above will be destroyed.

Firearm(s) listed above are not for sale.

Contact information is listed below:

Michigan State Police
Training Division
Forfeited Weapons Unit
7426 N. Canal Road
Lansing, MI 48913
517-449-5118
MSPForfeitedWeapons@michigan.gov

Under Michigan law, the State Police could chose to sell the firearms. They are protected from any liability by Michigan law. From the Michigan code 750.239:

 750.239 Forfeiture of weapons; disposal; immunity from civil liability.
Sec. 239.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) and subject to section 239a, all pistols, weapons, or devices carried, possessed, or used contrary to this chapter are forfeited to the state and shall be turned over to the department of state police for disposition as determined appropriate by the director of the department of state police or his or her designated representative.

(2) The director of the department of state police shall dispose of firearms under this section by 1 of the following methods:

(a) By conducting a public auction in which firearms received under this section may be purchased at a sale conducted in compliance with section 4708 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.4708, by individuals authorized by law to possess those firearms.

(b) By destroying them.

(c) By any other lawful manner prescribed by the director of the department of state police.

(3) Before disposing of a firearm under this section, the director of the department of state police shall do both of the following:

(a) Determine through the law enforcement information network whether the firearm has been reported lost or stolen. If the firearm has been reported lost or stolen and the name and address of the owner can be determined, the director of the department of state police shall provide 30 days' written notice of his or her intent to dispose of the firearm under this section to the owner, and allow the owner to claim the firearm within that 30-day period if he or she is authorized to possess the firearm.

(b) Provide 30 days' notice to the public on the department of state police website of his or her intent to dispose of the firearm under this section. The notice shall include a description of the firearm and shall state the firearm's serial number, if the serial number can be determined. The department of state police shall allow the owner of the firearm to claim the firearm within that 30-day period if he or she is authorized to possess the firearm. The 30-day period required under this subdivision is in addition to the 30-day period required under subdivision (a).

(4) The department of state police is immune from civil liability for disposing of a firearm in compliance with this section.

The Michigan State Police destroy about $500,000 of firearms each year. It is bizarre they pay to have this done. Many companies would pay the police to do it, just for the parts which could be salvaged. 

It is done strictly for propaganda purposes.

Readers might want to check the list each month. Perhaps you have lost or had stolen a firearm which did not have a serial number. Many are on the list. Check to see if the model you lost is there. It might belong to you. Consider the Marlin Model 81 .22 rifle. They are nice little .22 bolt guns. Many never had a serial number.

With a little effort you can decode the firearm type. P is pistol, R is rifle, S is shotgun.   B is bolt action, D is derringer,  I is semi-auto, P is pump, L is lever action, S is single shot, R is revolver.  The code is in two letters, with the Pistol, Rifle, or Shotgun designation first.  For example, PI is a semi-automatic pistol, SS is a singleshot shotgun, and PR is a pistol which is a revolver. 

It is the height of irresponsibility to destroy these guns for the sole reason of destroying them.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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