I’ve been in Arizona for 8 months now. Before I moved here I had heard that they have such great gun laws out here. Open carry is allowed and you don’t have to get a CCW to carry. Well unfortunately the city I live in, Chandler, isn’t as gun friendly as I thought.
Last October I was here for work and I went to dinner with a couple coworkers to Serrano’s. I had my Glock .45 on my side during dinner and for the first 25 minutes I was there no one said anything to me. Then halfway through my meal the manager came up to me and asked me if I am law enforcement. After telling her no she asked me if I could put my gun in the car. I told her that legally they are supposed to have a sign on the front door if they want to ban guns. She told me they had a sign in front of the cantina. “Uh, don’t you think that might be because they don’t want people to drink in the cantina? Maybe because alcohol and weapons don’t mix?” She said she would look into it with corporate and I got up embarrassed and put my gun in the car. I wasn’t happy about it. Looking back I should have just left without paying. Well I went back about a month later when I moved out here and noticed that they had finally put a no firearms allowed sign by the front door. I walked away, to El Zocalo across the street, and have never returned to Serrano’s. Serrano’s, El Zocalo thanks you for your stupidity!
Well a couple weeks ago I took my daughter to get her ears pierced at Claire’s in the Fashion Mall in Chandler. Yes, I’m calling them out, The Fashion Mall in Chandler. Shortly after getting into Claire’s we noticed a mall cop and two Chandler police standing outside the store. I thought they were looking for someone downstairs because they were by the railing. Well we were in the store for about 40 minutes. I had walked out a couple times to throw stuff in the trash can and no one said a word to me.
As soon as we left the store one of the cops asked me if he could talk to me for a second. Since carrying a gun, a concealed one at that, isn’t breaking the law, and I had been outside the store a couple times in the last half hour I didn’t think it had anything to do with my gun. Instead I thought maybe some delusional person said I had taken something from the store or something.
“Are you law enforcement?” Now I immediately knew where this was going. Someone must have seen my gun when I bent over. “No, but carrying is not illegal here.” Then he tells me that there is a sign posted outside saying no weapons allowed. I told him I looked for a sign before coming in and didn’t see one. He told me it’s a very small sign and the owners don’t want people to carry firearms because of recent mall shootings on the news. I told him this is absolutely ridiculous. Here I am holding my 3 year old daughter and they see me as a threat? Has there ever been an incident where someone holding their three year old goes in and shoots up a mall with a .38 snub nose revolver? I told him if there was a shooting these people would change their minds really quick and hope for someone like me to be around to shoot back.
Instead, these morons have created a “gun free zone” which is an invitation for a mass shooting. I could go on a full three page rant right now about how these nutless gunmen pick “gun free zones” for mass shootings and even drive way out of their way to shoot up people in “gun free zones”, yet there's never shootings at gun shows, but I’ll spare you all that rant.
The cop agreed with me and asked me to put my gun in the car. He said it’s private property and the owners are allowed to ban guns if they want. Then he asked me if my gun is “full sized”. I told him “No, it’s just a .38 snub nose on the small of my back.” His response, “I have to ask you to put it in the car today. Next time just push it down a little farther.” As you can see, he thinks the whole thing is a joke as well. However he had to do his job and ask me to put it in the car this time. He said I’m welcome to come back in once I remove the gun. No need, I will not be giving that mall anymore of my money. On the way out I looked for the sign. There was no legal sign (pictures and explanation below). Only small 1 inch letters on the very bottom right corner of the door that says “weapons prohibited”.
In Florida private businesses don’t block people from concealed carry. The only places off limits are areas of restaurants where the primary purpose is to serve alcohol, sporting events, government buildings, etc. Everyone talks about Texas and Arizona having these great gun laws but I haven’t seen it. I’ve seen a bunch of liberals with gun phobia who come over here, buy up business, and ban firearms. Texas allows private business to ban guns as well.
I stayed at a Hilton in Texas with a “no firearms” sign posted on the front door. What the hell do they expect people staying there to do with their guns. Leave loaded guns in the parking lot? Going back to last October I had been in the Hilton lobby carrying my .45 all week and no one said a word to me. After a week I noticed the “no firearms sign” on the door. Maybe because I was dressed up, tie and all, they thought I was a cop and didn’t question it? Is that the solution? Walk around with a tie on everywhere?
This weekend my sister’s family was in town so I went back to the mall, against my will. We were hungry so we looked at a JR’s Burger Grill next to the theatre but they had a very large, and legal, “No firearms sign” posted. Immediately, we walked away. Then we went to the food court. The “no firearms sign” there isn’t legal and the most they can do is ask me to leave if they see me packing so I’m going to test the waters everytime. Pulled shirt down, walked in. Ate my lunch then went over to the movie theatre. Again, another illegally posted sign. This one just showing a gun and a knife (see below). Again pulled down shirt and walked in.
I don’t know what pisses me off more. These loony Californians (I am a California native) moving here and trying to change this place, or the laziness of people who want to ban guns but don’t want to put up a legal sign. I guess maybe I should thank those idiots who can’t even put in the effort to put up the right sign because it gives me the right to disobey their wishes until confronted. At that point all they can do is ask me to leave and if I don’t comply I’m trespassing.
If you don’t like guns stay in California where the gang bangers can punk you in the street and you can’t fight back. I’m so sick of liberals wanting to spread their plague across main street America. Don’t move here and expect people to change for you. You want our business, adapt to our way of life here. I could go on and on for another ten pages about statistics showing how California, Illinois, and New York’s gun laws cause crime while states like Utah, Arizona, Texas, and Florida are much safer but I’ll avoid that today. This post isn’t to make my case for CCW, it’s to let those liberal fools know that we don’t welcome your type here. Play by our rules or lose our business. Serrano’s, Fashion Mall, JR’s Burger Grill, you’re all on my boycott list.
For anyone in Arizona that likes to conceal carry I found these online. When you see a sign banning guns don't simply walk away. First give their manager one of these cards. We need to stand up to these idiots and let them know we will take our business elseware.
Similar picture of sign posted at the movie theatre.
Requirement and picture of a legally posted "No Firearms" sign.
4-229. Licenses; Handguns; Posting of Notice
A. A person with a permit issued pursuant to section 13-3112 may carry a concealed handgun on the
premises of a licensee who is an on-sale retailer unless the licensee posts a sign that clearly prohibits the possession of weapons on the licensed premises. The sign shall conform to the following requirements:
1. Be posted in a conspicuous location accessible to the general public and immediately adjacent to the liquor license posted on the licensed premises.
2. Contain a pictogram that shows a firearm within a red circle and a diagonal red line across the firearm.
3. Contain the words, "no firearms allowed pursuant to A.R.S. section 4-229".
UPDATE
So it's become very apparent that Arizona needs to update their websites as everyone is confused what the law is. I was doing my yearly update last week and they changed their websites which are still beyond confusing and hard to digest. Apparently the 4-229 is in reference to establishments that serve alcohol. This is why other private businesses can ask you to leave without posting. But it's not just the citizens that are confused. The businesses are completely confused as well. For example The Outlets at Anthem has signs posted that reference 4-229 in their parking lot and they ask people to keep their guns safely stored in their car. However if you reference 4-229 you need to have the pictograph, which they don't. It's complete stupidity. Would it be to much to ask to have the state put all the information on one website so you don't need to dig through a dozen of them to know the law? Would it be too much to ask to have them write it all out so you don't need a friggin law degree to understand the law? Of course I guess that's asking too much from government. After all it's those super bright government employees that came up with these signs at the Arizona rest stops.
- The picture shows a scorpion and a snake and says snakes and insects. What insect? A scorpion is not an insect.
- Snakes and scorpions are not poisonous, they are venomous. Big difference. You can drink venom and if you don't have an ulcer or a way for it to get in your blood it won't harm you. Venom has to be injected in the blood.
- The sign should say something like venomous reptiles and arachnida or hell even critters would work. Your tax dollars hard at work here.
By the way everyone loves to mention how stupid people are in Florida. Well at least in Florida they were able to write the law in a way that makes sense and put all the information in one place.
