Michigan Gun Owners

David Dellinger and Denise Flinders stand at the Michigan Gun Owners booth at the West Michigan Women's Expo on Friday, March 11, at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. The open carry advocates were told they can't have their firearms at the expo.

(Angie Jackson | MLive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Open-carry advocates contend officials at a Grand Rapids women's expo infringed on their rights when telling them to get rid of their guns or leave the show Friday.

Three people representing Michigan Open Carry and Michigan Gun Owners shared a booth at the West Michigan Women's Expo at DeVos Place while openly carrying holstered handguns.

A few hours into the expo, they were told firearms aren't allowed in the facility. One woman representing Michigan Open Carry chose to leave the expo because the organization's policy is to leave if guns aren't permitted. They were allowed to stay without their guns.

David Dellinger, a Michigan Gun Owners board member, took his gun out of the building and returned to the booth. He believes they had a right to carry, and the groups will discuss whether to take legal action.

"As long as I'm following the law or a private property owner's rules, I should not be infringed upon. And that's what this is - blatant infringement ... and I don't agree with it," Dellinger said.

Kohler Expos says DeVos Place doesn't allow open carry. Dellinger, of Novi, argues the facility is publicly owned and should be prohibited by law from imposing restrictions on firearm possession.

The Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority operates DeVos Place. The board was formed by Grand Rapids and Kent County under a public act. The facility is owned by the Grand Rapids City-County Building Authority.

City Attorney Catherine Mish said Grand Rapids does not own or operate DeVos Place.

Advocates reached out to the city attorney's office Friday. Dellinger said he was told the convention arena authority is a private entity.

A manager with DeVos Place couldn't be immediately reached Friday evening.

The groups have exhibited at similar expos in the past, and Dellinger said they researched ahead of time to find out whether open carry was allowed. He didn't find any policies against it online and figured they were in the clear after reading about the convention arena authority.

They didn't make any further inquiries before bringing their guns Friday.

"We didn't think we needed to. Part of what you do in this is you try not to give anybody any ahead ammunition. You don't want someone to get 25 police officers lined up at the door," Dellinger said. "You want to go about your daily business, doing your daily thing."

They were approached by staff with Kohler Expos and SMG, the management company for DeVos Place, after a few hours of handing out literature while openly carrying.

"It's not like we had hid that we had firearms," said Dellinger, still wearing his empty holster at DeVos Place Friday night.

Denise Kolesar, president of Kohler Expos, said the family-owned business has a history of "supporting the second amendment and responsible gun ownership."

"It is simply not allowed by the facility that we chose to host our fantastic Women's Expo," she said.

Dellinger said the groups otherwise received an overall "fabulous" response when talking to attendees about why women might want to arm themselves. He said their main goal is to educate the public about responsible gun ownership.

He and another member plan to run the Michigan Gun Owners booth through the end of the expo Sunday.

Angie Jackson covers crime and breaking news for MLive. Email her at ajackso3@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.