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If someone confirms this for a fact, they will earn a spot on the anti-gun list. It seems peculiar for any gun shop to have such a policy. But as we know, not everyone who owns guns defends the right to keep and bear arms.
There are policies and there are policies. In some cases the "policy" is for folk they don't know or for insurance purposes.
Part of it is that if an accident ("negligent discharge") happens when someone is at home or otherwise on their own, that's bad enough, but when it happens at a gun shop/gun show/gun range the result is far worse from a PR perspective. Even with those kinds of policies in place, accidents do happen from time to time. Yes, they are caused almost entirely by idiots, but since it's kind of hard to completely ban idiots, we've got to deal with the existence of same.
Somebody at his home screws up and has a negligent discharge. Best case (from a "gun rights" perspective), nobody ever learns it happened. Not too bad case, the guy's buddies know about it and he takes a ribbing. Bad case, injury or property damage to a third party. Worst case someone gets killed. Everything above the "guy's buddies know about it" does damage to the idea of preserving gun rights in the court of public opinion.
Somebody at a gun store has a negligent discharge. In this case, best case is the "bad case" above (starting with property damage to a third party since that bullet is almost sure to break something or put a hole in the shop's walls) going right up to the same worst case. And in every one of those cases, the association with the event at a gun shop or gun show leads to more damage in the court of public opinion. The story is more likely to have "legs" on the news, reaching more people and people are likely to think "even in a gun store, with experts around" making the event seem worse.
Michael Z. Williamson* (I dare anyone to call him anti-gun) had an article on this subject at keepandbeararms.com
I've spoken with the folk at several gun stores with such policies. In every case (among those I've spoken to) the "rule" is not aimed at people who carry and who leave the gun holstered while inside (unless they actually need it), or who only take it out at the range line to shoot. What they don't want is people taking out guns to show each other or to brag about since that's when people make mistakes and are likely to screw up.
YMMV, of course, but having such a rule posted may not be as "anti gun" as one might assume.
*When last I spoke with him on the subject, Mike said that he had military supremacy over Barbados and was now in an arms race with Bermuda. Having seen part of his collection, I believe it.
So, where are the threads for the other districts on the map in the OP? If there aren't any, we need a new thread dedicated to each district and maybe those threads should be stickies.
Okay, Keresotes theaters... Now they have been bought out by AMC. One on 30 in hobart and one on 41 in schererville each have signs saying no firearms.
Lake county fairgrounds in Crown Point on main street has a sign saying no firearms. (When gun show are scheduled it's usually covered by the banner that says "Gun show today".) LOL
I thought you were against registries.
Now these stores will become social outcasts and be forced to resort to crime.