Open carry parent Howell.jpg

A screengrab of a socail media post mad by a man who brought a gun to Parker Middle School in Howell during student orientation.

Editor's note: This story has been updated

HOWELL, MI -- A man took to social media Thursday afternoon to show he carried a gun into Parker Middle School in Howell during the school's orientation event.

The post included a photo of the man posing with his gun in a holster on his hip inside of the school.

State law allows for open carry of guns on school grounds as long as the gun owner has a concealed pistol license. However, the events leading up to Winegarden's post are being investigated by Howell Public Schools.

"Open carried at parker middle school in Howell MI for the kids orientation...No problem at all!!!..nice thing was I had a chance to educate a few people in the process!!!," wrote Francis Winegarden in a Facebook post sent to the Michigan Open Carry Inc. Facebook page.

In an email sent to MLive.com, Howell Public School District superintendent Erin MacGregor acknowledged that he is aware of the social media post.

"I learned about the open carry situation Friday when it was brought to my attention from a parent in our district," MacGregor wrote. "I am still collecting all of the facts before contacting the authorities, which complies with our district's policy."

Macgregor went on to write that district policy prohibits visitors from possessing weapons except for law enforcement. However, because state law allows for open carry on school grounds with a CPL, the district does have a policy in place for such a situation.

The district requires visitors to check in with the main office and notify the administration if they are carrying a gun and show their license. The district will then contact authorities to verify the CPL is up to date and asks law enforcement for guidance, MacGregor said.

"Student safety is our first priority. We have procedures in place to ensure student and staff safety if a weapon is brought on school grounds," MacGregor wrote.

The issue of open carry on school grounds has been a hot-button topic over the last year. Last March, a man carried a gun into a choir concert at Ann Arbor Pioneer causing a stir among parents and teachers at the school.

In response to the incident, Ann Arbor Public Schools attempted to ban guns on campus by making schools weapon- or disruption-free zones with law enforcement officers exempt.

Michigan Open Carry took issue with that plan, calling the plan "lawless." A lawsuit filed by Michigan Gun Owners attempting to block the school policy was thrown out by a judge in September 2015.