As promised, here is an update on Schaefer's TV and Appliance posting situation.
Ron Romero, president of the business, wrote me today. Since he and I were old friends, the email was somewhat personal, and I will not duplicate it here. However, here is the reasoning behind his choice to post the business. Some time ago, they had a customer come in who was carrying a handgun in a holster under his jacket. He had some kind of a beef concerning a purchase he had made with them, and he became quite beligerant and abrasive toward the female employee who was trying to help him. In the process, he drew his jacket back intentionally to show his gun, presumably to scare her into a favorable disposition of his complaint. She was scared, and went to her manager for help. The manager was able to appease the customer, and no further threats or violence actually occurred. However, a number of the employees were shaken by the incident. Ron's legal council advised him that by posting against guns, he might make his employees feel a bit safer, and would be able to show that he had taken steps to provide a safe work environment for them should any further incidents occur and result in injuries or death. There are probably some OSHA concerns that come into play in that regard, too, though I don't know specifically if that is an issue. I think that is where the legal council was focusing as well as any possible civil suits that might come from a shooting incident.
Now, we all know that the signs aren't going to protect people in the store. In fact, most of us believe the store would actually be a safer place if it allowed CHP holders to carry while shopping there. Still, the property owner has just as much right to refuse guns on the place as we do to carry in public.
I didn't try to change Ron's mind, but I did make some suggestions. First, rather than posting against legal CHP holders, why not put up a sign that bans all guns. If making his employees feel safer was really the issue, I'm sure they would rather not have people coming in with AK47s over there shoulders and 45s on their hips in plain sight. I also reminded him that his sign had absolutely no legal value regarding people who were carrying concealed without a permit. They would already be breaking the law, and a silly little sign would not only be useless, but it would also have no legal consequence for the person should he be found carrying in the store. (No additonal charges as a result of the posting.) Also, by banning all guns, it would not make law-abiding CHP holders feel they were being discriminated against or that they would be at a disadvantage should someone come in carrying in the open (with unknown intent).
So, I doubt if anything will change at Schaefer's, and though I'd rather they didn't post, I'm pleased that Ron would at least explain his stance. By the way, reading between the lines, it seemed as if he might actually be saying he didn't care, personally, if CHP holders carried in the store as long as the weapons remained concealed. However, with the sign remaining, I would not take the chance of being "made" while there because the police may not care even if Ron came to bat for me and said it was okay.
