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Good comments from all. No, HEB isn't 06, just 07, but if I'm carrying openly that day I'll just have to leave the gun in the car. I'm not into walking around with my shirt tail out, unless it's a tropical shirt, which isn't my daily wear. Applebee's is a tough one. Like I said, we have a relationship with them going back to our honeymoon. It's personal. So we're out running errands, it's about noon, and my wife says "I'm getting hungry, let's stop at Applebee's and eat." Should I say "no, I'm boycotting them because I can't carry my gun in there" just on principle? And at the end of the day, will it really make any difference?

Same with Half Price Books. Sometimes I'll have an hour to kill and I'll drive past a HPB. I've been a patron of HPB since the 70s, when they opened. I love to go in and sit down in an easy chair and read all kinds of old books (not buy them), having been a reader all my life. Same question: should I just forget it, disarm, go in and relax, or not go in there just on principle? Again, would it really make any difference?

Looking at the broader picture, I kinda resent the fact that I HAVE to attend to these issues. Which businesses have an 06, which have an 07, which have both, am I open carrying, am I concealed carrying, what kind of shirt am I wearing, or do I need to wear, should I take a windbreaker (even though it's too warm for one), etc. etc. etc. I resent the fact that I can't just get up, get dressed the way I want to dress, don my holster and just go out and enjoy my day without being hassled.

I wonder if there would be grounds for a lawsuit if you were a CHL holder, left your gun in the car because a business had an 06 sign, then got mugged because you couldn't defend yourself. Probably not.

I'm sorry if I sound like a whiner; I certainly don't mean to. I know, some days you're the hammer, some days you're the nail.

While it makes me red in the face to know that the MDA types are giggling with joy at all the new signs going up, I have to wonder if it's even worth it to not patronize these businesses. My wife and I love eating at Applebee's - there are certain items on their menus we like, their cocktails are excellent, the booths are comfortable, and we have a history of eating there going back to our honeymoon almost 20 years ago.

"Just not going in" a posted business is not always a small matter. There are certain items we use that ONLY HEB carries. So I'm supposed to disarm every time I go in, then walk back to the car and re-arm?

Same with Half Price Books. I love going there, going through all the old books and being able to sit and read them. I'm an old book-lover from way back. So if I refuse to go there, just on principle, will it REALLY matter? Will it affect their bottom line? Will somebody give me a medal? Should I refuse just for my own principles, even though nobody else even knows I didn't go? Or should I just blow it all off, leave the guns in the car or at home, and go on with our lives?