Thursday, December 06, 2007

Gun Free Zones

On the Nebraska mall shooting, I'm getting unsubstantiated reports that the mall has removed the "No Guns" signs from their little gun-free zone paradise, lest someone take a picture of them. Here's background from Fox:
But despite the massive news coverage, none of the media coverage, at least by 10 a.m. Thursday, mentioned this central fact: Yet another attack occurred in a gun-free zone.

Surely, with all the reporters who appear at these crime scenes and seemingly interview virtually everyone there, why didn’t one simply mention the signs that ban guns from the premises?

Nebraska allows people to carry permitted concealed handguns, but it allows property owners, such as the Westroads Mall, to post signs banning permit holders from legally carrying guns on their property.
Also read John Lott's paper on Multiple Victim Public Shootings for background:
Our results are surprising and dramatic. While arrest or conviction rates and the death penalty reduce normal murder rates, our results find that the only policy factor to influence multiple victim public shootings is the passage of concealed handgun laws. We explain why public shootings are more sensitive than other violent crimes to concealed handguns, why the laws reduce both the number of shootings as well as their severity, and why other penalties like executions have differential deterrent effects depending upon the type of murder.
I'm with law professor and InstaPundit guru Glenn Reynolds on this one...these smug bastards post their "No Guns" signs...cool...if a business posts such a sign, then the business (or university or whatever) should be legally obligated to provide the protection they're denying individuals...if they fail to do so — as has been the case in all the gun-free zone shootings — then all the victims and their families should sue the facilites into well-deserved bankruptcy. Make the smug bastards pay!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you Michael. If you're a business owner and post a no CCW sign or have a no CCW policy, your business should be sued if it cannot protect the sheeple that shop there.

In a similar vein, if you're a legal CCW license holder, boycott those businesses that have anti-CCW policies. Yes, vote with your pocketbook AND be vocal about it. Tell the manager. Send an email to the corporate headquarters. Tell all your shooting buddies. Member of a gun club or range? Put together a "do not patronize list" in your club's newsletter. Then mail a copy of the newsletter to the anti-CCW businesses. Make sure you indicate how many members your club has.

After a while, these businesses will catch on to the "and he told two friends, and he told two friends, and so on" effects of BAD word of mouth advertising. Then they'll start to see their sales drop.

Anonymous said...

Funny thing is here in FL the only places I have ever seen posted "No loaded guns alowed" is at gun shops!

I routinely ignore them as the state occupies the field concerning gun laws as does not alow businesses to post such things.

I figure those signs mean no VISIBLE loaded guns alowed as there is no open carry in FL.

Dustin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dustin said...

It is high time we end victim disarmament zones. It is now well proven that they only serve to disarm the victims, not the criminals.

Unknown said...

Michael;

One of my readers tried to find the signs up at Westroads (with the help of a guard) but could find none.

Now, to be fair, they had to peek through the doors to search. The mall re-opens tomorrow, so your faithful correspondent (read: me) will be on the ground seeking signage.

If, however, you would like to see the signs in question, please pop over to joemerchant24.blogspot.com and see what the sign at Oak View Mall, the sister mall in Omaha owned by the same management group looks like. (Hint: look at Item No. 14).

Turns out, I broke rule No. 13 just by taking the picture.

Peace, love, and a .45.

Unknown said...

Oh, and check out ccwne.com. In the forums there, the Nebraska concealed carry holders have a list of "no guns, no money" places.

Anonymous said...

American Signature Furniture has a no-gun policy and because of such, has lost my business.

Emailing them was futile. So I blogged about it instead.

You can check my Sitemeter stats. I still get quite a few hits each day because of Google searches.

Companies may not respond to individuals, but once they see bad press start popping up, they may take notice.

That's another tool in our belt to use against those who'd rather see us dead than independent.

Sevesteen said...

From an earlier story on Nebraska CCW:
In fact, although some chains such as Bag 'N Save have posted signs and shopping malls such as Westroads Mall have added "no weapons" clauses to their posted codes of conduct, many small businesses haven't seen the need.

If Nebraska law is similar to Ohio, I don't consider this a huge deal. The signs are there, but if they are tacked on to a long list of rules, only the people who seek them out are required to obey. I'm told many Ohio malls have these rules--The only thing it changes for me is that I avoid reading the rules. If this mall had been in Ohio and I was there, I'd have been carrying.