I'm not sure this is the correct place for this since it is not directly related to open carry.
For many of you (like me) who live near the Michigan / Ohio border, I created this letter to businesses that is generic in nature and could be used in any state. Similar letters cite state laws, making them for that particular state, so I needed this one that I can use in either Michigan or Ohio. It is a Word document so some formatting was lost in the cut and paste.
Please feel free to comment and/or suggest changes.
(page 1)
TO: Business Owner
RE: Signage at business entrance
To whom it may concern:
I am writing in regards to the sign at the entrance to your establishment that prohibits the carrying of concealed firearms on the premises. Please allow me a minute or two of your time to explain the truth about the signs, and the implications to your business.
Often the sign’s that ban guns are meant to give the “feeling” of safety to your employees and customers. Unfortunately, the reality is quite different. “Feeling safe” and “Being safe” are not one and the same. Let me start in a perhaps over-simplified way by asking a couple of questions:
1. Do law abiding citizens abide by the law?
Answer: Yes. By definition, a “law abiding citizen” abides by the law.
2. Do criminals abide by the law?
Answer: No. By definition, a “criminal” does not abide by the law.
Seems like a simple observation, an almost condescending approach, but bear with me, my intention is not to insult your intelligence, but only to ask you to think in a different way.
I think we have established the facts from the two questions above. If a law abiding citizen breaks the law, then he is no longer a law abiding citizen, and receives the consequences thereof. A criminal by definition breaks the law, thus ignoring the laws. For example: It is against the laws of our land to rob a convenience store, yet convenience stores are robbed every day. So the laws that prohibit robbery do not deter the criminal. Adding more laws do not, and have never stopped the criminal. By definition “Criminals break the law”. Law abiding citizens do not.
The signage at your entrance is meant to make patrons feel safer when entering your establishment. That intention is great……. if criminals would obey the sign like the law abiding citizen does. But they do not!
So the question is: What does the sign really do for your business? It actually makes it “Less safe”, by disarming law abiding citizens, and inviting criminals to come in, because they know they will be unopposed! Criminals are known to actively seek out businesses with “NO GUNS ALLOWED” signs for that very reason. By posting these signs, you have actively removed my right to protect myself, my family, and even you or your employee(s), while at the same time empowering the criminal who would rob you or do you harm.
Law abiding citizens will obey your sign and disarm themselves or shop somewhere else. The criminal will seek out your sign and feel very welcome to rob you or worse, knowing that there will be no opposition. This truth is often ignored by businesses that unintentionally prefer “feeling safe” over “being safe”.
(page 2)
The facts about gun owners with concealed carry permits or licenses.
In order for anyone to receive a concealed carry permit, an extensive background check is performed, the person is fingerprinted, and also must receive extensive NRA approved training on the proper and safe handling of the firearm, including time at the range actually firing the gun as well as the laws and legality of carrying concealed, and perhaps the most important, the implications involved if ever required to actually draw the gun. No person with a criminal record can receive a permit, nor should! The permit holder is a “law abiding citizen”.
With that said, I can say with assuredness, no person licensed to carry a concealed firearm ever….EVER wants to draw his gun. It is only as a LAST resort, when ALL other options have been taken away. Concealed carry permit holders are not “Cowboys of the old west” looking for any reason to display or draw his gun. It’s not a “Macho” or ego trip thing. Trust me on this. There are serious legal ramifications for even removing the gun from its holster, and permit holders are well aware of this. It is part of the training they receive.
The right to protect oneself from serious harm or even death is protected in the United States constitution 2nd amendment and in almost every state’s constitution as well. With crime running rampant in this day and age, it becomes more and more likely that sometime in our lives we will be a target of violent crime. Notice I say “target”, not “victim”. It is our right, and our responsibility to protect ourselves and those around us if necessary. I am concerned about the signage at the entrance to your business, because it strips me of my right and obligation to self-preservation, while having no deterring effect on criminals, who don’t care about a sign. They are criminals, after all!
You may say that it is “company policy” to have the sign banning firearms. You should know that there is NO requirement by law to post the sign. It is entirely your option as a business owner/manager. Company policies can be changed. Every change of policy that has ever happened anywhere about anything has started with one individual with the fortitude to question the policy. With this letter in hand, you have the information necessary to question the policy in the interest of true safety for yourself and your business.
Whether you are an advocate of the right to keep and bear arms or not, it is important to give this letter its due consideration, if only from the standpoint of your business and the safety (real safety, not implied safety) of your employees and patrons. It is in your best interest to not attract criminals to your business, which is what the signs could do.
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely,
