# Did I Miss a Memo???



## collieradomtman (Nov 10, 2013)

I was at my local wal mart a couple days ago and noticed three guys (not together) all carrying their guns on their hips, now I am all for this but the wal mart sells beer....I was under the impression its a big no no to take a firearm into a place that sells alcohol. did I miss something? this isn't the first time ive seen someone with a gun on their hip in this store. ill still be taking mine out and leaving it in the car when I go in, better safe than prison.


----------



## forphase1 (Aug 5, 2010)

Depends on your state laws. I can't speak for many places, but in WV, for example, there is NO law against carrying (concealed or openly) in places that sell alcohol. It's a common misconception that it's illegal even here in WV, but it isn't.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

it does depend on your local law and i can't speak to CO but in Wisconsin the difference is made between class A and class B liqueur licenses 

class A is a retailer for consumption off site and there for carrying a gun open or concealed is fine as long as not other wise posted

Class B is a place serving alcohol for consumption on site as in a tavern , bar , pub or the like.

a further distinction in Wisconsin is that if you have the permission of the owner , or manager of the establishment you can carry open in a bar / class B establishment 
or 
If you have a CCL and are carrying concealed and NOT drinking Alcohol you can carry into a class B as long as it is not other wise posted 

either way it should be of no concern that they are openly carrying in Wally mart they are not the ones to worry about.

laws have a funny way of not telling you what is legal , and only mentioning what is not , all things not Illegal are there for Legal but they don't read like that


----------



## collieradomtman (Nov 10, 2013)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> either way it should be of no concern that they are openly carrying in Wally mart they are not the ones to worry about.
> 
> 
> 
> I think its great I'd rather they have it my concern was for them getting in trouble with the law but obviously Im mistaken in the laws


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

collieradomtman said:


> GREENCOUNTYPETE said:
> 
> 
> > either way it should be of no concern that they are openly carrying in Wally mart they are not the ones to worry about.
> ...


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

In Ohio they would have been escorted off WM property by police. WM here has a strict NO WEAPONS policy.

However I did see people carrying openly into stores in Anchorage, Alaska. But there you have to worry about grizzly attacks in the city parks.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Danaus29 said:


> In Ohio they would have been escorted off WM property by police. WM here has a strict NO WEAPONS policy.
> 
> However I did see people carrying openly into stores in Anchorage, Alaska. But there you have to worry about grizzly attacks in the city parks.



wal-mart of Wisconsin takes a neutral what is legal in the state is legal in the store , unless you cause a problem , now some assistant managers have a bee in their bonnet about OC and will ask you to take your gun out to the car and lock it up before returning but I think they got so much negative publicity over it on the gun and open carry forums and so many letters back to the general manager complaining that an employee was pushing their personal agenda and not company policy that it is mostly over now.

some just don't get it , you will see some one obviously open carrying walk buy and the people near by will say something like that must be that concealed carry thing , Nope if it was concealed you would even know 

on that note have you ever heard of a person going in to rob a convenience store pulling the gun out of their milt sparks custom leather holster , no because they wouldn't need to rob a convinced store if they had a 200 dollar holster on their 100 dollar pistol belt , with their 1200 dollar kimber custom in it , and they wouldn't have waited 16 weeks to get it either


----------



## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

In Nebraska, unless it's changed, you can carry into a business as long as less than 50% of it's sales are from alcohol.
They don't expect you to ask for the ledger, but basically, liquor stores and bars are a no-no because it's obvious.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I wonder if Colorado ever amended the law to include recreational marijuana stores or perhaps you would have to consume on location, do they have pot bars yet?
cause you could really clean up selling selling food , you might even find that the marijuana was less than half the revenues with all the full price food consumed after serving pot brownies first while they wait to be seated. just get their credit card as they come in the door to start them a tab.


----------



## collieradomtman (Nov 10, 2013)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> I wonder if Colorado ever amended the law to include recreational marijuana stores or perhaps you would have to consume on location, do they have pot bars yet?
> cause you could really clean up selling selling food , you might even find that the marijuana was less than half the revenues with all the full price food consumed after serving pot brownies first while they wait to be seated. just get their credit card as they come in the door to start them a tab.


Haha some towns (its up to city/county if they are allowed) have stores no bars yet. Ive been trying to think of a way to get in on some of that revenue! If I could find some irrigated land ill grow commercial hemp.


----------



## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

In WV I'd be shocked if I didn't see a gun in Walmart.. 

Here in VA I carry mine into walmart concealed.. In this area, even though OC is legal, people get thrills on calling the cops about it.. Yes, in VA and WV it is legal to carry a gun where alcohol is served or sold... You just aren't supposed to be the one drinking..


----------



## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Oh.. and then there was Illinois.. all the bars had meat shoots every winter.. We'd all take our shotguns to the bar, order up a bunch of beers and shoot at targets for meat all day... It wasn't legal, but it wasn't enforced either.


----------



## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Danaus29 said:


> In Ohio they would have been escorted off WM property by police. WM here has a strict NO WEAPONS policy.
> 
> However I did see people carrying openly into stores in Anchorage, Alaska. But there you have to worry about grizzly attacks in the city parks.


No true of all Wal-Marts in Ohio. The ones closest to me are NOT posted, and I know people that carry in those all the time without an issue.


----------



## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

Danaus29 said:


> In Ohio they would have been escorted off WM property by police. WM here has a strict NO WEAPONS policy.
> 
> However I did see people carrying openly into stores in Anchorage, Alaska. But there you have to worry about grizzly attacks in the city parks.


No Walmart has a "no weapons" policy, if a walmart tells you that you can not have a legal firearm in the store you need to call their corporate headquarters. Corporate policy is that you can carry in there store as long as it is state legal, anyone that tells you different is incorrect. I was told to leave WM by a dept manager, I left and then called corporate headquarters who informed me of their nation wide corporate policy. I ended up being put through to the district manager and store manager, the dept manager that kicked me out is no longer employeed there


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Ohio dreamer said:


> No true of all Wal-Marts in Ohio. The ones closest to me are NOT posted, and I know people that carry in those all the time without an issue.


They carry openly????

Wal-Mart in the closest city here has a sign on the door with a "no weapons" policy. Next time I go to WM I'll get a picture, unless the sign has been removed since the last time I shopped there. 

Meijer otoh does not have a "no weapons" policy. I don't think Target has one either. 

Kind of useless though. If I walked there, no problem but to drive there you have to have the firearm in a closed container where the driver can't get to it. So I would have to get out of the car, get the pistol out of the container in the trunk, put the holster on, put the pistol in the holster, all before walking into the store. Then the reverse when I leave.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

see in Wisconsin act 51 in 2011 made it legal for anyone to openly carry a loaded hand gun in a car as long as they were 18 or older and not a prohibited person before that we were supposed to unload and encase 

this made open carry much less hassle for persons who do not have a CCL

act 51 also allows unloaded long guns open in the car also do now hunting we just unload the long guns to comply with the law that long guns must be unloaded in cars then hop in and hold our guns

since the law doesn't specify that you must open carry only handguns a few have tested the law and gone for a walk in town rifle slung over their shoulder they get stopped but I haven't heard of an arrest for it yet 

the police lost a lot of money in lawsuits for bad arrests when they were arresting open carriers and charging them with disorderly , the person would beat the charge then file suit for damages for legal fees and such for the trumped up charges


----------



## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Here in VA, if you open carry and get into a car, you have to unload your gun and put the gun in a visible spot, like on the dash, or a seat to where the second a cop walks up to you they can see it.. You also can not have the ammo in a reachable spot.. it has to be locked away from the gun.. However, so long as you have a concealed permit, and are wearing the gun in the open while in the car, you are OK loaded and in the holster even if it's not "concealed"


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

simi-steading said:


> Here in VA, if you open carry and get into a car, you have to unload your gun and put the gun in a visible spot, like on the dash, or a seat to where the second a cop walks up to you they can see it.. You also can not have the ammo in a reachable spot.. it has to be locked away from the gun.. However, so long as you have a concealed permit, and are wearing the gun in the open while in the car, you are OK loaded and in the holster even if it's not "concealed"



see and i think having people touch their gun all the time pull unload , reload re-holster is a recipe for a problem , look at how many cops have shot themselves in the leg or shot the ground when they go to re-holster their glock

your talking the the people who are supposed to be the most highly trained and they still have a few accidents a year , yes they may be under very tense situations but it does happen, I think our state legislature saw this as a 2 fold problem they had to come up with a way that people could legally carry and yet be loaded and ready to go the second they stopped the car 

they were also taking a beating in the courts here we were probably only a case or so away from defacto legal concealed carry or open carry in a car with the gun loaded , because enough pizza delivery guys in Milwaukee were carrying Illegally and then would have to use their weapon when robbed , the courts would clear them as justified since there was no legal way for them to have defended themselves , I think they were at 4 times that a person had carried concealed Illegally had to defend themselves and had been declared that because they had to defend themselves that their carry justified as was their use because they were basically robbed as they exited the car 

so the answer for them to maintain control or the illusion of control was to hurry up and pass a very sweet and easy CCL bill and make it legal to open carry a handgun in a car loaded and ready to use , cause it looked like constitutional carry was not to far off otherwise

we should probably not call Wisconsin concealed carry , i is really carry any way you like because it does not prohibit you from open carry in any way , but since you already needed no license to open carry 

but a CCL gets you a few things , concealing , carrying in a class B establishment (one that serves alchohal) so long as your not consuming Alcohol, making it so that your employer can't prohibit you from keeping your gun in your car even on private property like in the work parking lot as long as your car is locked, there are a few others but that is most of it


----------



## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Danaus29 said:


> They carry openly????


Yes, at one of the ones near by, they do. I have 3 Wal-Marts near....one is posted. Well, the all parking lots owned by the land owner are posted. So all the shops there are "no gun zones". Yeah, we don't shop there. One of the others I know isn't posted....and people carry openly, but not too often...in fact I can't say I have seen anyone the past few years. I've seen one or two in the 4 yrs we've been back.....but we don't use that one often, it's not is a good neighborhood. The other one I'm pretty sure isn't posted (I know DH and I have talked about it) but I have never seen an open carry in there. Likely lost of CCW's though, as we have lots of "them" around, lol. In a few months I will be one of "them"....waiting for my 5 yrs in the state, I'm too cheap to pay for the extra FBI check.


----------



## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

simi-steading said:


> Here in VA, if you open carry and get into a car, you have to unload your gun and put the gun in a visible spot, like on the dash, or a seat to where the second a cop walks up to you they can see it.. You also can not have the ammo in a reachable spot.. it has to be locked away from the gun.. However, so long as you have a concealed permit, and are wearing the gun in the open while in the car, you are OK loaded and in the holster even if it's not "concealed"


That's different. Not sure what you are supposed to do in the car in Ohio for open carry, but if you have your CCW it is illegal for you to carry open - ever - in Ohio. In the car your weapon has to be in a place only you can reach it....on your belt, under the steering wheel, in the door, etc. By them honoring your right to carry concealed you have to give up your right to open carry. I'll stay off my soap box on that one!


----------



## beowoulf90 (Jan 13, 2004)

Here in PA there is no law concerning Open Carry. 
You can open carry all day long as long as you stay away from Government offices and the such. Now you can't have a loaded firearm in your vehicle unless you have a LTCF (License to carry a firearm), this is what everyone calls a concealed weapons permit.

Two things I do on Friday's wear red for RED (Remember everyone Deployed) and carry open. 
When I first started doing this it seemed t cause some disturbance, but these days I don't notice it any more.

The rest of the week I'm carrying concealed.


----------



## LoneOak (Jun 4, 2007)

In Georgia if you have a GWL-Georgia Weapons License- You can carry open or concealed in many places including Walmart. You may have heard of a bill that was just signed by our governor HB60 that the anti's are calling the Guns Everywhere Bill. The bill allows private property owners to decide if they wish to allow carry in their establishment, this includes bars and churches. The antis fail to read the entire bill and dwell on the speaking points that say carry in churches and bars is legal, they fail to continue to read and see that it is limited to citizens with a GWL who have passed background and mental health checks. If you carry a firearm without a GWL you are committing a crime and as such you are illegal and a criminal and this will cause you to loose your privileges to obtain a GWL and you will never be able to carry in our state again.

As a member of GeorgiaCarry.org we ask you to research and read the bill before you pass judgment and decide that carrying a firearm for your and your families protection is a bad thing. We feel that you as a legal citizen of this state should be able to protect yourself and carry a gun anywhere a criminal may carry his.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

we can even open carry in church , unless there is a sign on the door stating other wise , only a few do but , lots conceal carry to church

I love the blood will run in the streets argument , *nope it won't* and if it does it either won't be the people legally carrying or it will be the bad guys bleeding after they choose to rob the wrong person.


----------



## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

I havn't kept up on the laws regarding open carry. In the late 80's I queried our local sheriff since other LEO's I had questioned had no answer. I was told at that time...open carry was legal unless a town or city had an ordinance against it. A vehicle was an extension of your home (Hunting rifles excluded) and you could carry a sidearm loaded in it anywhere.

However... it was considered a concealed firearm if your jacket covered ANY part of it, and you were out of your vehicle. I always carried, and in the cooler seasons my jacket or coat covered most/all of my sidearm, so it concerned me. At that time I asked about obtaining a concealed carry license, and was told he absolutely did NOT issue any.

Glad that times have changed!


----------

