TexasCHLforum.com

Assuming it's private property (like Whole Foods) the gun buster sign could be considered effective notice that you were asked to leave (if openly armed). I would assume it could set you up for criminal trespass.

That being said, I know that in at least one OC state, a gun buster sign does not legally constitute effective notice and you actually need to be asked to leave before you can be issued a criminal trespass citation.

The way I look at it is that I have a right to carry a firearm. My right to carry a firearm does not necessarily stomp on the right of the public property owner to set the rules on that private property.

OldCannon wrote:Same sign at Whole Foods in the Domain in Austin.
Whole Foods will never see a penny from me again. Not that they ever made much money from me in the first place.

Whole foods is doing pretty well.
Does anyone actually have any data on CHL demographics, particularly income? I don't know of any direct link, but it'd be interesting to show Whole Foods that they're excluding what might be the very set of customers that they're looking to attract... Guns ain't cheap...

AlgoaAggie91 wrote: Pretty sure that's why there is an appeals process...

Correct. I'm 99.5% certain that if you throw enough money at it (lawyers) and appeal it enough times, eventually they'll get it right.

The problem, for me... And probably for most of the people on this forum:
1) You got arrested. That record is going to stick around no matter what you do. And trust me, for some employers that's a dis-qualifier right there. Shouldn't be, but it often is. That in and of itself can cost a *lot* of money over a lifetime in loss of opportunity.
2) For many employment opportunities, licenses, heck maybe even for some financial transactions, you can be asked if you were ever "arrested". That arrest provides a lot of jeopardy regardless of outcome.
3) The arrest is punishment in and of itself. You're going to jail. You'll be there for a while - could be hours, could be days. To get out, you can either plead guilty and pay a fine or you can often pay a bond and set a trial date. Some places, if you choose "not guilty" you may have to sit in jail for a few more days.
4) You get to hire an attorney. Sure, if you can't afford one, one may be appointed to you. However, often you'll get charged for that attorney too. (Not kidding)
5) The cost of the attorney and fighting it will vastly exceed what it would have cost to pay the penalty and accept a guilty verdict. That is, you're punished more if you fight. You lose either way.
6) If you fight and eventually win, you've got a record of the arrest and being charged. For another.. well probably thousands and thousands of dollars, you can pay to have it all expunged.
7) After getting your record expunged on something that you were found innocent on, it'll likely still show up on criminal background checks for decades anyway..

Police officers know these things. They're also not law makers, nor are they law experts. Not knowing that the letters have to be at least 1" - well, my guess is that's not exactly a career ending false arrest... I'm saying that there probably isn't a lot of downside there if they incorrectly arrested someone.