While I hated the bag ban for the short time it was enacted in Dallas, I fail to see the parallel here. In that particular case, it wasn't because of what was happening on the property, but what happened with the bags after they were taken off the property.Scott Farkus wrote:In light of the HEB discussion, I thought I'd make this point about "property rights", or lack thereof.
Not long ago, a bunch of environmentalist types decided that plastic grocery bags were offensive and they wanted grocery stores and other retail shops to stop using them. They didn't wring their hands and say "oh, I don't like plastic bags but I would never try to tell the owner of a private business what to do". They didn't say "I'll politely ask the owner not to use plastic bags and if he or she refuses, I'll respectfully take my business elsewhere because private property rights trump all". Know what they did? They went to the local government, in this case the City of Austin but other cities have followed suit, and screamed "pass this law forcing all these private businesses to do what I want!!!". And guess what? The City of Austin did, and HEB, Sprouts and Whole Foods can no longer make the choice to use plastic grocery bags in their private businesses.
But they can choose to exclude open or concealed carriers from their stores, because we respect property rights.
This isn't fair. We can't be the only side that honors the rules. Commercial property is and always has been different.
There are a number of things that private property owners can't allow on their property. Think of fireworks, nudity in your front yard, the list could go on for days. There are reasons for all of these and reasonable restrictions are OK.
If you owned a fine dining establishment, would you want someone saying you can't enact and enforce a dress code? It's not fair I can't wear my ripped up shorts and tank top to the most expensive steakhouse in town?