Oldgringo wrote:Chili's, which is owned by Brinker International, said Friday, "We kindly ask that guests refrain from openly carrying firearms into our restaurants and we will continue to follow state and local laws on this issue."
Sonic said,"We're asking that customers refrain from bringing guns onto our patios or into our indoor dining areas."
I have no problem with either of these quotes:
1. These merchants also have rights,
2. I don't want to sit around with a bunch of goons playing with symbols; and,
3. I frequent neither business.
Right now, it seems they're only interested in prohibiting
open carry. As long as the Texas Legislature doesn't tie legalized open carry of handguns to PC 30.06, concealed carry probably won't be widely affected.
In my assessment, most business owners are going to do whatever generates the fewest complaints from customers. Concealed carry is out of sight and out of mind, so business owners aren't likely to get many complaints about it. However, they ARE likely to get complaints from CHL holders if they post 30.06 signs; therefore, few business owners post 30.06 signs.
Because open carry is much less subtle, business owners are much more likely to get complaints about it. If the only way they can prohibit open carry is by posting the 30.06 signs that simultaneously prohibit concealed carry, they'll weigh the cost of irritating half of the population (people who don't own guns) against the cost of irritating 2% of the population (CHL holders) and, in all likelihood, choose to post the signs.
