gigag04 wrote:You asked my opinion so I'll include it free.
You can ask anyone to leave your store. You can ask him to leave his big scary gun in his car.
However, if I was the regional mgr and found out one of my sporting good stores had such a culture, things would get ugly. Law abiding gun owners are a target segment for that industry. They are also very good about sharing their offense online (just poke around this board) and helping you develop a poor reputation. My advice is to allow your employees to carry with a CHL
+1
No State shall convert a liberty into a privilege, license it, and charge a fee therefor. -- Murdock v. Pennsylvania If the State converts a right into a privilege, the citizen can ignore the license and fee and engage in the right with impunity. -- Shuttleworth v. City of Birmingham
Jasonw560 wrote:how big of a gun do you need, first of all?
Too small.
That would be good for rush hour.
NRA EPL pending life member
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government"- Patrick Henry
Actually if the customer used the precise words in the OP "I have a gun.", then the customer is not saying that he is carrying a gun, but may just be bragging about his prized possession which is sitting in his safe at home. In context, the employee might infer that the customer means he has a gun with him at the present time, but that mighht also be a bit presumptuous.
I could see the customer saying "I have a gun" if he was looking for directions to the ammo aisle, although the customer would most likely elaborate a bit more on his need.
In any event, the store owner can ask for just about anything he wants. The store owner can most likely also demand that the customer leave the premises. I don't think that these rights change just because the customer owns a gun, or may be carrying a gun at the time.
If the customer really does have a CHL, he either needs a refresher course or his instructor should be reprimanded.
If I saw this happen, I'd give him some unsolicited advice, seeing how he felt free to share unsolicited personal information with me. I'd tell him in no uncertain terms that "concealed is concealed" and that if he's worried about printing, he needs to find better concealment methods. I might even show him some tactical vests, fanny packs, Hawaiian shirts, plus-sized shirts, or internal holsters that we have in stock. If he's just trying to get attention for having a CHL, then he's doing the entire program a disservice.
I might be tempted to call the police and prove a point as all I officially know at this point is that a customer has announced that he has a gun, but has not shown me a valid CHL. . . and even if he had, I'm not trained to recognize legitimate licenses from forgeries. I'd probably only do this if he was combative or persistent in his ignorance.
If he refused my free lesson in concealed carry, I might ask him to leave for fear of what other dangerous misinformation regarding CHL laws he might have. If he then left and immediately returned with the same bulge but without announcing whether or not he had a firearm, I'd leave him alone to shop unhindered, assuming that he replaced his firearm with a mobile phone from the early 90's.
I'd also simultaneously tell my employees that they should be more shocked when they learn matter-of-factly that a customer is NOT armed and is thus assuming that we will provide for his/her personal protection and safety.
I might then offer raises to those who get a CHL, buy a firearm from our store, and carry on the job.
Informing someone that you are "armed" (never use the word "gun") is an idiotict idea to me, unless a LEO that stopped you. Why? would you tell someone you were armed?
Doesn't really make sense to me. As the manager, your call. Really don't think I'd want the guy in my store, CHL or not. "Stupid is as stupid does" comes to mind.
"The government that governs best, governs least." - Ben Franklin
I initially read the original post and wondered what the dickens a "pistol leash" was...and was going to make a pithy remark about it...but I did the old search thing first. Glad I did...but I am still wondering when the word lanyard became incorrect...
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government"- Patrick Henry
