By Dean Weingarten
Arizona -(Ammoland.com)-Texas has very specific requirements for “gun free” zones. When the legislature passed the shall issue concealed carry permit law, they included specifications for signage if establishments were to ban people form carrying guns on their property.
The signs are called 30.06 signs, from the section of the law, and are large, obvious, and in both English and Spanish.
When the legislature reformed the law to restore some open carry rights, they expanded the signage requirement to include a separate sign for premises to legally prevent people form openly carrying handguns on their premises. Those signs are 30.07 signs.
They are also in English and Spanish, and are as large as the 30.06 signs. To ban both open and concealed carry with legally binding signs, a considerable amount of space is needed.
A recent opportunity allowed me to see how common these signs were in a Texas shopping mall.
My daughter needed to renew her drivers license in Texas. The most convenient place was at the Old Denton Shopping Mall. When we arrived at about 9:15 a.m., the line was already 20 yards long outside the doors.
As I waited, I surveyed the shops to see how many had 30.06 or 30.07 signs. The shopping center consisted of about four large blocks of shops. The method was simple: Walk around each block, count the shops, and note how many had 30.06 or 30.07 signs. Each block had about 20 establishments.
Care was taken not to count multiple entrances as multiple establishments. A total of 86 establishments were surveyed. Six had proper 30.06 and 30.07 signs. Four had non-binding signs of one kind or another. one of those had a proper 30.07 sign and a quarter sized 30.06 sign. Three shops had small, non-compliant no guns signs.
Of the six shops that had proper signs, one was a bank, one a bakery, and there were three restaurants.
Of the non-compliant signs, one was a general merchandise type of store with the compliant 30.07 sign and the quarter sized 30.06 sign, one a bank, and two were restaurants.
The shopping center had a definite Asian theme. Most of the shops had Asian themed names and many had Hanzi or Kanji or Hanja characters on the signs as well. I do not know enough to differentiate them. It appeared that there were more Korean themed shops than others; I did not survey how many of the numerous Asian cultures were represented.
Less than 7 percent had proper 30.06 and 30.07 signs. Less than 5 percent had improper signs. A large majority had no signs.
I doubt if any general conclusions can be reached by this bit of impromptu research. Asia is a big place, and there are many cultural differences. People with Japanese ancestry have told me that Americans with Japanese ancestry love guns.
I have read that there is a surge in Americans with Chinese ancestry arming themselves. Koreans are famous for defending their shops and homes during the LA Rodney King riots.
I have not found any good research that differentiates gun ownership by Asian ethnic ancestry. It is good that we do not have those sort of records.
I found the paucity of “Gun Free Zone” signs a positive sign for the future of the Second Amendment.
2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Jim, Thanks for the info I was aware of that. I was just putting that info out there for other like minded people like ourselves.
Whole Foods and Sprouts also ban weapons but the signage is hard to find. It is not posted at eye level or on the main doors. Costco also prohibits weapons even though some stores have signage that prevent open carry. They say the membership paperwork has language that prevents carrying any weapon concealed or otherwise, but they do not have signage.
If they don’t have signage that meets the Texas law, you have the right to carry, unless the owner or manager of the store asks you to leave. This is more likely if you are open carrying, of course. Signs that are too small, not posted conspicuously, not posted at the entry you used, or not in contrasting colors with the letters of the required size are not valid. II would suspect that if the membership agreement for a store, fitness club, etc., states that you may not carry, your membership is at risk, if you do carry, regardless of… Read more »
I have noticed a number of 30-07 signs at restaurants and supermarkets that sell alcohol, some of which have “gun friendly” owners whom I know personally. When I asked why they posted the signs, they told me that the local state Alcohol Board agent had been telling them that, if they didn’t post 30-07 signs, they would have to “card” anyone who came in openly carrying. This was apparently justified by the same rationale that requires them to “card” anyone buying alcohol, to verify they at old enough. However, those places already have other required signage, a “51 percent” sign… Read more »
There is a method for reporting improperly posted signs (most commonly, on government buildings which, with the exception of courtrooms, cannot bar carry). I would suggest this be used to “report” the AB agent, who is clearly outside the law as it pertains to the requirements to carry, which you may do in a liquor store. There is no requirement in the License to Carry law to card anyone. In Texas bars do not have to post, because you are automatically prohibited from carrying in a bar. More likely, a 51% sign would be posted in a “pub” that has… Read more »
Personally I would never carry openly. I think it would make you the first target for an attack and if I ever had to defend myself I want the bad guy to be surprised
You may be right for terrorist bad guys, but it is at least equally likely that the more common “armed robber” type bad guys would see you when they “cased” the target area, and either try elsewhere or wait for you to leave instead of taking you on for no benefit. In many states the difference between armed robbery and murder convictions is the death penalty.
One aspect of the statute on proper Texas signage: Formerly, if one violated the correct sign, it was a Class A misdemeanor. That could result in jail time. However, the statute was changed. If one now violates a proper sign, and is cited by the Police, it is a Class C offense. This is the equivalent of a traffic ticket. Only if one is asked to leave by an owner or representative of the establishment, and refuses to do so, is the offense serious – Criminal Trespass. It is never a good practice to violate any law, however many just… Read more »
My experience has been similar. 30.07 (open carry) signs appear most often, but still infrequently. 30.06 (concealed carry) signs are less commonly seen. Some establishments, like movie theaters, which originally posted both signs, have removed the 30.06 signs and now prohibit open carry only.
Also, companies that have loudly proclaimed their policies against firearms in their stores, like Panera Bread and Target, have not posted required signage. While they may oppose carry at the policy level, it is tacitly permitted.