Having your guns taken is a nightmare scenario. That’s especially true if you’ve done nothing wrong. In fact, people have plainly stated they’d go to war if the government tried to take their firearms.

The thing is, sometimes it happens in a context where armed rebellion is probably not the best idea.

For some men up in Michigan, the nightmare came true, apparently through no fault of their own. Now, they’re trying to get their guns back.

Nearly four years later, two men are turning to federal court to try to recover 13 guns seized from a hunting cabin in Saginaw County.

The sheriff’s office seized the guns after responding to a dispute between a man and a woman who were using the cabin in 2017.

The man grabbed a shotgun and was subsequently charged with domestic violence.

The case ended in 2019, but the sheriff is refusing to give up the guns.

What the article doesn’t say is why.

After all, the owners weren’t present when the incident happened and aren’t responsible for the domestic violence charge. Why would they have to give up their guns for what someone else did?

I don’t blame them for taking the issue to court. It’s their property, and they have a right to get it back. They’re not prohibited people, so why would their guns not be returned? It just makes no sense.

Unless, of course, there’s something else going on here.

It’s possible that the sheriff is demanding some kind of proof of ownership, like presenting the weapons’ serial numbers – something far too few gun owners actually have on hand, in my opinion – and that’s why they’re not being returned. Somehow, though, I’m doubtful.

Regardless, it seems all these men are guilty of is allowing someone to use their cabin who turned out to be violent. It’s unlikely they knew this beforehand. Even if they did, that’s not actually illegal. It’s definitely not grounds to seize someone’s weapons and refuse to return them to the rightful owners.

This case will likely go to court, and the people of Saginaw County where this happened will have to end up footing the bill for this legal case.

However, it’s something to think about. Gun confiscation can come in many forms. It’s not necessarily going to be jackbooted thugs kicking in your door to take your guns away. It could be as simple as law enforcement finding more and more reasons to seize guns from law-abiding citizens, then refusing to give them back.

That’s what’s happening here, and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon, I’m afraid. Not unless the sheriff here gets hammered hard by the courts, so much so that it dissuades anyone else from trying to do this kind of thing again. Somehow, I’m skeptical of that transpiring in this instance.

Either way, be careful who you let use your cabins. Be careful where you leave your guns and how they’re secured. Be careful of pretty much everything because someone will clearly try to take your guns over anything, even if you didn’t commit a crime.