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Hoax??
Well................
It's a sleeping tiger that you don't want to poke with a sharp stick........BUT........ I think it would be criminal of me not to make the members of this list who live here in Michigan (or drive their vehicles into the state) aware of the fact that.........
IT IS A FELONY TO POSSESS MANY MILITARY VEHICLES IN MICHIGAN !!!!!
Ok, got that? Felony! Jail. Confiscation of your vehicle. It doesn't matter how old or stupid the law is or wether your local police know or care, it's still a felony! That's serious lawbreaking and not a joke.
You list members who are also longtime members of the 1st Mich. Chapter MVPA may remember my article in our newsletter about this. For you who have not read it I'll give you the story.
Years back I lived in Plymouth, Mich. My house was in a industrial area with a railroad behind, junk yards on either side and a highway in front of my house. Perfect place to keep MV's right? No eyesores here! Well, seems that the local Zoning guy (you know the type!) decided it was time that this area of the city would be his next target for enforcement. So I received a letter saying that I had "unlicensed vehicles" on the property. Ok, no problem here, I just went out and got historic plates for the four M-38-A1's and the half track (1943 Autocar truck, utility body). Well, that wasn't good enough for the zoning guy. Now I got a notice that I had "inoperable motor vehicles". "Hey, no way" I told the guy. "Well", says he "every time I go by your house they're always in the same place." "Ok, no problem" says I "drive by tomorrow and you will see that they can move" Boy, pushing that half track around in the yard was hard, but when he came by the next day every one of them was in a different place. He was not happy but he did note that it appeared that the vehicles could run. Well, this story goes on for a couple of months and the local police chief got into the act. When they sent me a notice that I had, A: too many parking spaces in front of my house and, B: I owned too many vehicles, I had had enough. Up to the State Capital to the HQ of the Secretary of State (our DMV) went I, and purchased a copy of the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code. Back to the city hall to get a copy of the Zoning laws. A quick perusal of both books showed that A: there is no such thing as owning too many vehicles (you can own a hundred if you want) and B: there is no such thing as too many parking spaces ( there is a law saying how many you MUST have).
OK, time for a showdown. I called the zoning guy and the chief, and asked them to stop by so we could put an end to this harassment. When they showed up I put the Zoning book and the Motor Vehicle Code book on the hood of one of the M-38-A1's. "Now," says I " show me where I am violating the law". They were at a loss for words. Then I delivered the Coup de Gras. I said " either give me a ticket right now for whatever law you think I am violating and me and my lawyer will see you in court or, stop harassing me before we file a lawsuit". That did it! They beat a hasty retreat.....Victory was mine!
Yes, I know by now you're saying "Jim, get to the point!!" Well, after they left I sat down and decided to read that Motor Vehicle Code book page by page just to see what stuff was in it. Lots of interesting laws and such and......... suddenly, on page 290, I saw something that made my blood run cold!
There, at the top of the page, section 750.421 (MSA 28.653) was the title "Motor Vehicles Designed for the Purposes of Defense or Attack !! This law ( I will quote it in full at the end of this posting) makes it a felony to, "construct, reconstruct, devise, manufacture, purchase, sell, POSSESS or operate any motor vehicle"......."designed for the purpose of attack or defense from or by explosives, projectiles, ammunition, gases, fumes, or other missiles, weapons and firearms"........"without first obtaining a license"......."punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 (five) years"....."or by a fine of not more than $2,500.00".......
Holy Cow.......Here I was showing this book to those two guys just an hour or so ago........
This is why I gave you the long version of this story.........This law is virtually unknown, even a police chief and a zoning officer had no knowledge of it. If they had known about it they could have simply arrested me on the spot and confiscated my MV's ! Or, at the least, they could have told me to get rid of them or I'd go to jail. Humm.....actually, selling them would be against the law too.
To legally own an attack and defense vehicle you must first apply for a license to own these using the same form as a "Carrying Concealed Weapons" license from the Commissioner of Public Safety. That's right, you got it, you must get a Concealed Tank License !!!!! Hey, stop laughing, this is serious stuff, felony remember?
Being the law abiding citizen that I am, I decided to go to the source, the Commissioner of Public Safety. Only one problem......who the heck is that? State Police, I was told by the DMV. Back up to Lansing, Mich. (State Capital) I went, right to the top guy's office at the State Police HQ. I sat down with him in his office and proceeded to tell him my story, show him the law and said that I needed to get one of those licenses. He proceeded to burst out in laughter! Thought that a concealed tank license was just about the funniest thing he had ever heard of. In fact, HE had never heard of this law before! He thought I should just ignore it since it sounded like one of those "can't walk your alligator down the sidewalk" type of law. "Yea", says I "except this one's a felony" Well, that got his attention and we proceeded down the hall to the law library to look up the law and see if there were any related cases or rulings. After much looking we found that this law was passed in 1934 to prevent rum-runners and gangsters from owning cannons, tanks and armored cars (passenger types). It has never been challenged and as far as we know no one has ever been charged with a violation of it. After I told him I was about to buy a M-4 Sherman tank and wanted to comply with the law he said he would send the necessary form to my local police department where I could pick it up.
Now this law, passed to stop people like the Purple Gang (a local Detroit based 1930's Jewish organized crime gang) from having vehicles the police couldn't stop, is still on the books. The law is both specific and vague. As I said, many military vehicles would fall into the category of an Attack or Defense vehicle. ANYTHING with armor, which is for the purpose of "defense" from " projectiles, ammunition....weapons and firearms..." will make it illegal. Of course a tank/halftrack/armored car was also manufactured to be "used for the purpose...of attack". It doesn't matter if YOU aren't using it for that purpose because the law would apply here since it was "designed" to do that. In fact, even if you put a M-114 APC together from cut up parts you would still be in violation of the law since it states to "reconstruct" such a vehicle is also illegal.
Cannons would also fall under the law as it states "..or other vehicle capable of being drawn by a motor vehicle.." and of course a cannon (working or not) was "...designed for the use or purpose of defense or attack......by explosives, projectiles, ammunition....". Even black powder muzzle loading cannons could fall under this law. Remember, it doesn't have to work if it was "designed" for that purpose.
OK, now you guys with jeeps are saying "this won't affect me, there's no armor on my jeep". No, there is no armor but slide under your MB or GPW and look up under the rear floor. See that plate on the crossmember? That's a mounting plate for a GUN mount and the vehicle was "designed" with it. And what goes on that mount that attaches to that plate? Why a "firearm" (machine gun) of course! And what is the purpose of that "firearm"? For "attack or defense" from the enemy. Hey, you got a later jeep that has a rifle ("firearm") rack factory installed on the windshield? Same thing here.
What about CCKW or M-series 6x6 2 1/2 ton trucks? How could just a cargo truck be one of them "attack" vehicles? Look in the back of the cab. See those grooves running up and down? They are for the, you guessed it, GUN mount! Which as we know is used for "defense" from aircraft and the enemy. The truck was "designed" for it.
Not all MV's will fall under this law. Ambulances, weasels, M-880's, CUCV's, Hummers (unless they have the ring mount on them) and any others without armor or weapons/mounts on them are OK.
Of course it doesn't have to be a MV to be a attack/defense vehicle. That's right, those bank armored cars and armored executive limos fall under this law too.
By now some of you are saying "Jeeze, Jim's too anal about this. They wouldn't arrest you for a MB or Duce. Heck, you would beat this rap in court." Well.......look at the two examples I have given. In an accident trial imagine what a sharp lawyer who found this law could do. "Why", he would tell the jury, "you might be one of them Michigan Militia types driving around in your attack vehicle running into peaceful, law abiding citizens!" God help you if you had a gun mount on your jeep or truck!
Or.....more likely........Imagine what the local zoning guy could do with this law. Many of us collectors have had experience with them. Even if your local police thought the law was stupid, if the zoning officer insists, they will HAVE to arrest you. Any police officers on this list going to tell me that you can IGNORE a felony violation? The police must uphold the law wether they like it or not. Yes, I think you would beat it in court (unless you have a cannon or armor) but at what cost? Lawyers are not cheap!
Remember........this is a FELONY not a misdemeanor. You get convicted of this and you can't vote or own firearms ever again. Please, don't tell me about the constitutional right to own military vehicles......there isn't one. You must have a license to drive and in this state you must have a license to own "attack or defense" vehicles.
Go ahead, scoff at this law, ignore it, just let me know where they send you and I'll bake you a cake with a file in it.
Now that I've put the fear of God (so to speak) in you "attack" vehicle owners there is a legal way (actually two) to own these MV's in Michigan.
One is to simply(?) apply for a license. (Remember, you must do this BEFORE "possessing" the vehicle) Get the "carrying concealed weapons" license application form from your local police. You then need to get fingerprinted , background checked, fill out the forms with two un-related residents signatures vouching for your character, take it back to the police and have them send it in to the local Gun Board. A month or so later the Gun Board will review it. Of course they will never have heard of this law and wonder why you need a license for a (pick one) tank/halftrack/APC/jeep/truck. In fact they may "freak out" at the prospect of a tank in their county and hold up your application until they figure it out. As of this time I do not know of anyone who has applied for, or received one, of the "attack or defense" concealed licenses.
Yes, Mrs. Hank, I can hear you saying "If no one has one of these licenses then how does Gilmore own his stuff legally? He must be breaking the law too." ( and no, this is not the reason they won't let me run for the MVPA board).
There is a second way to legally own attack and defense vehicles. The law states " ...the provisions of this section shall not apply to any person .....purchasing, selling, possessing or operating such vehicles by virtue of any contract with any department of the government of the United States.....foreign government......state municipality......."
Note that it states "ANY contract with ANY department..." Ever bought a vehicle from DRMO (a govt. department)? When you do, you receive (and sign) a form DRMS 1427 "Notice of Award, Statement, and Release Document". In block 5 on the form it states "Contract No." followed by a series of numbers. That's right, you have a CONTRACT with a department of the U.S. government to own that vehicle. So, Mark in Battle Creek, if your M-35 was "purchased" (by you) by a contract with the DRMO (as my M-35A2 was) , the law does not apply to you. If you purchase a MV from a guy that bought it from the DRMO then YOU don't have a contract, he did. Here the law is a bit vague but note it does not state specifically that you need a contract for each vehicle, just that you are exempt if you do have one.
Since I have several contracts with the DRMO for these vehicles I am exempt from this law. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Oh yea, why didn't I just use the form that was sent to my local police and apply for the concealed tank license?
Well, I never got that form the State Police Officer sent to my local police. When the local police chief found about this he had me come down to the station. He told me that I had to give him a letter stating I would not keep that tank I wanted in HIS city before he would give me the form. In fact, he said I couldn't even move it THROUGH his city! Well, after that statement I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere so I went home and sent him a letter stating "I will not keep any attack or defense vehicles in violation of any state laws on my property" (note that I did not say I wouldn't keep them there, just that I wouldn't keep them "in violation" of the law). Couple of days later he called he and said that letter wouldn't do! I had to state I would NOT keep them there. (He had no legal basis for asking for this.) I told him thank you but I think it's time to have my attorney handle this from here on out.
Four days later I got a call from my landlord, State Senator Robert R. Geake (R) , telling me he was selling the house and I would have to move (after living there 8 years) in 30 days! Yep, the chief and the zoning guy did an end run and put the heat on Geake. Of course he wouldn't admit that, he swore that had nothing to do with it, he was really selling the house. (five years later he still owned it, the gutless weasel). Just at that time a customer of mine (and later best friend and co-owner of the M-4 ) said he had a house for rent in Inkster (which I later bought). I told him about all the military vehicles I owned and won't this be a problem? "Naw", he said " you can fill the back yard and stack 'em double for all I care".
And that's just what I did................
The following is quoted in completeness from the Michigan Vehicle Code
MOTOR VEHICLES DESIGNED FOR DEFENSE OR ATTACK
750.421 Motor vehicle or trailer designed for purposes of defense or attack. [MSA 28.653]
Sec. 421. Any person who shall construct, reconstruct, devise, manufacture, purchase, sell, possess or operate any motor vehicle or other vehicle capable of being drawn by a motor vehicle, designed for the use or purpose of defense or attack, from or by explosives, projectiles, ammunition, gases, fumes or other missiles, weapons and firearms, without first obtaining a license therefor from the commissioner of the department of public safety, or his duly authorized deputy, shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 years or by a fine not more than $2,500.00: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any person constructing, reconstructing, devising, manufacturing, purchasing, selling, possessing or operating such vehicles by virtue of any contract with any department of the government of the United States, or with any foreign government, state municipality or any subdivision thereof.
Applications for said license shall be upon forms provided by said commissioner of public safety. The applicant shall possess the same qualifications and said license shall be issued and revoked in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as are prescribed by law for the issuing and revoking of licenses for carrying concealed weapons, insofar as the same are applicable. The said commissioner may prescribe such other rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
End of quote of this statute.
Jim Gilmore MVPA # 5843
Member Ist Michigan AOD Chapter MVPA
Great Lakes Chapter MVPA
Ohio Motor Pool Chapter MVPA
Red Ball Chapter MVPA
Ontario Military Vehicle Association
Midwest Military Vehicle Assocation
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2656 Wiethoff, Inkster, Mi. 48141
313-561-8826 voice 313-730-1652 fax
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