Murderers Welcome - The Minnesota

Murderers Welcome - The Minnesota Personal Protection Act allows private businesses to exclude legally-permitted people from bringing their firearms onto the premises. The catch - they have to post a sign at their entrance. For all the caterwauling of the anti-gun left, there's a purpose to this stipulation, and it's not just to make people caterwaul; it's to prevent "oopses", places where the law-abiding citizen can be breaking the law and not even know it.

That bothers some of the left, who'd like the law to be a byzantine maze of nuance filled with dark alleys of uncertainty, as long as it exists at all.

The PiPress covers the conflict over the signs in this article today.

Unscientific observations around the metro area suggest that most companies aren't posting signs. A Minnesota Chamber of Commerce survey also indicates that's the case. In early June the chamber informally surveyed its members. Nearly 70 percent of the 250 or so companies that responded already ban, or planned to ban, their employees from carrying guns at work. But only about a third said they planned to post a "no guns" sign and inform customers of the ban, said Tom Hesse, chamber director of labor management policy.

I've personally been amazed; I've walked down a couple of local business streets, and seen almost no posted establishments, even among those with known DFLer ownership. I've only noticed the signs at the Dome during a Twins game, at the Megamall, and at a little grocery store in Highland Park (a neighborhood in St. Paul that wears liberal sanctimony like a (hand-knit Peruvian free-trade) hairshirt.

It's a fairly simple legal and marketing decision for most companies:

Some companies have decided. Minneapolis-based Target issued a statement saying it's a nationwide retailer that has to comply with a variety of laws across the country, and that its policy is to not post signs regarding guns in any state with conceal-and-carry laws.

But "Free Will" is a difficult concept for some people.

Citizens for a Supine Safer Minnesota leader Rebecca Thoman says:

"It's necessary for them to be able to prohibit or ban weapons from their stores,'' Thoman said. "Legally, the assumption now is that if there's no sign posted, that guns are welcome."

"...guns are welcome.".

Guns.

Like they have minds of their own.

Ms. Thoman; guns are already in every single one of the shops and establishments, whether posted or not. It's just that they're carried by untrained, usually criminal people.

That you and your organization put so much trust in them, while heaping your opprobium on the law-abiding, trained, documentably safe permit-holder worries and bothers me a lot more than any sign on any myopically-PC store.

By the way - feel free to vote in the PiPress' poll. Of course I'm a "yes".

Posted by Mitch at June 17, 2003 10:31 AM