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I recently chronicled my encounter with the Bee Caves police, wherein the constabulary turfed me from a posted “gun free zone.” More than a few TTAG commentators took me to the woodshed. Not for carrying (although failed concealment earned me some brickbats). I caught more flack for . . .

being a hypocrite. “Rewarding” an establishment that prohibits customers from exercising their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms within their premises. After telling them I wouldn’t.

True story: I failed to walk the talk. Would I frequent a restaurant that refused to serve blacks, Jews or gays? No. So why are legally armed Americans exercising their civil right any different?

They aren’t. As I wrote in the original post, I shouldn’t have returned to Baguette et Chocolat when they posted their 30.06 and 30.07 signs, regardless of whether I was armed or not. Again, I was wrong. But know this . . .

I’ve never advocated that gun rights advocates should boycott any and all businesses that bar entry to legally armed Americans. That’s a personal decision.

Should you refuse to use Google, YouTube or Facebook for their anti-gun stances? Not buy coffee from a cafe that doesn’t use fair trade coffee? Shun Walmart or Target for outsourcing American manufacturing jobs? Where you draw the line on ethical consumerism is up to you.

So I put it to you: do you boycott all “gun-free zone” businesses (including U.S. Post Offices)? Are there “no guns allowed” establishments where you carry anyway?

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158 COMMENTS

        • “All liquor stores I frequent don’t bar concealed carry”

          Same in Florida.

          *However.* Open carry is still ‘Verboten’.

          One day, about 15 years back, shortly before I quit inhaling vast quantities of Jim Beam, I stopped in my favorite liquor store on the way home for ‘supplies’.

          Grabbed what I came for, and set the bottle down on the counter and noticed my favorite clerk looked very ill, pale as a ghost. Kinda scared, actually.

          I was a bit puzzled, but handed her the twenty in my hand and went to put the change in my front right pocket.

          Where I discovered was the rubber grip of my stainless .357 was sticking out.

          Oh, crap. I profusely apologized, told her I forgot it was even there, and hauled ass outta there. With the booze I had paid for, of course.

          I was expecting to see the cops behind me at any moment on the drive home, but didn’t. I never went in that shop again…

    • That works only if “No Guns” signs do not have the force of law. In my state, carrying past one is a misdemeanor. Up to 3 months in jail for a first offense and up to a year for subsequent ones. The only good thing about it is that the maximum sentence isn’t quite long enough to make you a permanently prohibited person.

      Even though it’s already covered by state statute, my city has an ordinance against concealed carry without a permit. An off duty, armed security guard, while a customer at a pharmacy, broke up a robbery by shooting the shotgun armed robber. Even though the county attorney ruled the shooting justified, the chickenshit city attorney made noises about prosecuting the guard for concealed carry without a permit. Eventually he backed down, saying he couldn’t tell from the surveillance video if the guard’s handgun was completely concealed. I suspect what really happened was someone quietly told him to stop making a fool of himself.

      • If it’s concealed, how do they know? Do you walk to the office and ask permission to carry?

        I’ve never understood this ‘do you carry concealed when there’s a sign prohibiting it?’ question.

        As the adage goes, ‘What they don’t know won’t hurt them… or me, in this instance.” Keep it to yourself.

        As for being a misdemeanor… you commit about 300 misdemeanors a day, you just don’t know it or have them enforced on you.

    • Me too. Fuck them.

      You have the right to post the sign. I have the right not to spend my money anywhere you post the gun free zone sign.

      • Amen Brother. I absolutely boycott businesses that post no weapons signs and will not give them a dime of my business. I have to make a few exceptions for hospitals, federal buildings, or places I am forced to enter due to my employment. Admittedly there are a few things I have had to go without but if I don’t stand on principle how can I expect anyone else to. I stay away from Facebook and the like no problem but still weaning myself off Youtube.

        I’m disappointed RF would shop at an establishment that bans guns. Your choice of course, but disappointed.

  1. Mostly. I stay out of USPS completely; otherwise there are damn few businesses in “Americas Gun City” that make any attempt to infringe, so it is easy and more effective to deny business to those that do.

  2. I have a PO Box, so I have to go in.
    Concealed as usual. My box is right near the door, so I’m in and out in 30 seconds.
    I’ve never noticed any signs on any businesses I frequent. Guess I need to look closer.

    • You may want to reconsider carrying in the post office. It’s not like a normal business. Get caught there and it’s a quick ticket to jail.

      • I carry concealed, figure the only way I’ll “get caught” is if someone “goes postal” and I seriously need to defend my life. In that circumstance, I’ll take a jury trial, thank you, and be alive for it.

  3. If they’re adamant enough to post their premises as a GFZ, I am adamant enough to take my business elsewhere.

    As for USPS, thir total gun ban does not extended to satellite locations which are in other businesses and are not staffed by USPS personnel.

  4. Hmmm…it’s complicated. Those signs are rare in nearby Indiana-where I spend the vast % of my dough. Plenty in Illinois. Except for a state or federal building I am NEVER completely unarmed. I ignore the no Beretta sign at the Illinois thrift store. But I won’t bother with the Mexican run candy/ice cream shop across the street also in IL. Yeah I wish I could ditch Google and fakebook. I’m apparently in fakebook jail…but I have 2 accounts and can see my other one from my page. Bizarre shite!

  5. If I have a choice, yes every single time. However, there are situations where I have to enter a posted business. Here in Texas, hospitals are almost universally posted with both signs. So, I do what Matt does and carry on. My life is worth more than some pencil-necked hospital administrator’s need to be away from those icky guns. The only way someone’s going to know I’m carrying is if the poop hits the fan for some reason.

    I don’t go to the post office for any reason, and I don’t frequent bars, so I don’t even have to worry about those places.

    • Yup, this^
      So it depends on how much I need/want to go in there.
      Kinda like how RF tried to defend his decision with how outstandingly awesome that ham sandwich was… s’okay, Robert, we all understand the sweet siren song of a perfect sammy.

  6. When at all possible you should not patronize an anti-Second Amendment establishment. Sometimes you have no alternatives but eating a ham sandwitch or shopping at a grocery store do not fall under those circumstancces.

    I don’t have a problem with places like Target that “ask” you not to carry but don’t post.

  7. Next question (rhetorical): Why is it illegal to discriminate in your business against LGBTQ+++, blacks, Hispanics, Jews, etc., but it is considered perfectly permissible to turn away customers exercising their Constitutionally protected (right) Right to keep and bear arms? Or in some cases I have heard about refuse service to uniformed police officers?

    I generally avoid places that attempt to restrict my Constitutionally protected rights, any of them, but sometimes you need a service and don’t have a choice. So long as I am concealed I go in anyway in those cases. Rarely I will disarm and go in sans gat. (Doctor’s office last week.)

    Here’s an idea: Get one of those T-shirts with the printed pistol on the side that looks like it’s tucked inside your waistband. Get it a few sizes too big and wear your concealed pistol in the same location, under the shirt. Even if you go in without your pistol in its holster the gun on the shirt will make a statement and the damn signs do not apply to pictures on your shirt. If you can’t do anything else, at least rub their noses in it.

    • “Next question (rhetorical): Why is it illegal to discriminate in your business against LGBTQ+++, blacks, Hispanics, Jews, etc., but it is considered perfectly permissible to turn away customers exercising their Constitutionally protected (right) Right to keep and bear arms?”

      It’s critical to understand this: A property owner has the right to determine how people may behave while they are on his property. Behavior is different from skin color. Behavior is even different from religion.

      Shouting “aloha snackbar” is Constitutionally protected free speech. But a property owner is within his rights to prohibit people on his premises from doing just that.

      I can respect property rights. If a business owner does not want me to carry a firearm on his property, I will abide by his wishes.

      • Umm, no cigar for you. It’s because there is a federal statute (and in most states, a state analogue) that prohibits and criminalizes or attaches a civil penalty to any commercial premises discriminating against defined “protected classes.” A “protected class” is a group of people who have suffered from documented “invidious discrimination” as determined by the Congress/Legislature and defined by the law. The listed groups include discrimination based on age, sex, religion, national origin, and a few others I don’t recall right off and am too lazy to look up. Gun owners are not a protected class, nor does there seem to be any substantial evidence that, at least on the national level, gun owners have historically been discriminated against.

        • Nice try, but… no.
          Regulating behavior is not the same as discriminating against a religion. Throwing someone out because of his profane language is not the same as a “No muslims” sign on the door.

        • Terminology problems, also. Carrying a gun is not “behavior”, but waving it around *is*. You cannot prohibit my carrying car keys into your establishment, but you can prohibit my scratching people’s eyes out with them. One is “behavior”, one is NOT!

  8. Whenever reasonably possible. And luckily most places where I live don’t really bother to specially block otherwise legal carry.

  9. If at all possible!
    Someone should develop an app that lets evrtone track these stores, both to avoid and frequent. If the knowledge was available, gun owners could do it more easily.
    I’m afraid, if they are luke warm, and it’s hard, then they won’t boycott. Let’s make it easy for them.

  10. I either boycott or ignore the sign. If they don’t know it is there then no harm to their fragileness. Some places I just will not spend my money there anymore. Post offices, I just leave it in the car and try to get in and out.

    • There is no way that I am going to commit a federal felony by carrying in a post office. I go there rarely as it is, but when I do it is because there is no viable alternative, e.g, when I mailed a lower receiver to an FFL.

      • Wait now, I know I’m late, but a lower receiver is a gun, isn’t it? Couldn’t you earn your 20 years or whatever just by carrying it in the door? Even wrapped for shipping?

    • Please be aware that, if in a parking lot owned by the post office, it’s still illegal even if the gun is left in the car.

  11. It depends. I live in AZ so I have the luxury of testing pretty much any ‘no guns’ sign I come across. The only ones that have force of law behind them are government buildings and bars. I regularly open carry into places that actually do have no gun signs up. No one cares. If they do stop me, I either don’t go back at all or I go back as infrequently as possible. I used to eat Raising Canes weekly, but ever since their no guns signs went up I’ve cut back to once every month or two. Some places had signs and took them down and as a result have gotten much more of my money.

  12. Haven’t gone into a Target [how ironically named] since they “requested” that nobody carry there. I used to be a regular customer. I also switched phone carriers because the only t-mobile stores in the area were in the local mall, which is a Simon mall. Wouldn’t walk in there to buy a new phone, so I switched to verizon. Same reason I haven’t shopped at the Sears in that mall.

    • Target has not banned guns. They merely gave lip service for publicity purposes. Their policy is don’t ask/don’t tell. That is acceptable. Mall policy is determined by legislation. As Gman points out in States like Virginia the no gun sign is advisory. Malls post because their insurance coverge require it not because they are necessarily anti-Second Amendment.

      • When a company proudly implements genderless bathrooms, I don’t believe their 2A stance was purely for PR lip service. And it has cost them – or at least their stockholders – dearly.

    • I go to may local Target regularly and open carry and I’ve never been stopped or even looked at oddly by security or managers. The only places that I go that don’t allow any firearms are for medical necessity.

      I generally avoid places that don’t allow open carry such as HEB, Applebee’s, etc.

        • Ham sammich with bacon? I can here the valves slamming shut in my heart thinking of it.

          Some things are worth the risk.

      • I don’t understand the issue here. You carried illegally in an (awesome) establishment that has well-displayed signs, now their business may be suffering because they called the cops on you and you went to your blog express your displeasure at the fact that a busy baker did not take the time and risk to ask an armed man (who is already breaking the law he is very familiar with) to leave or disarm. I’ve read your blog almost since inception and I expected better RF. To everyone reading, I understand RF’s fondness for their fare. It is DELICIOUS; and worth disarming for (temporarily). I plan to eat their this week (legally) and express my support for them as a strong proponent of 2A.

        • Right. So, due to RF being naughty, the poor babies had to take down their fakebook page? So they can ignore the protests? Then boycott is the answer, very obviously, since taking down the damn *signs* and embracing freedom would be the *correct* answer. Or post “no criminals” signs, which would be a good (although not supported by any laws) answer.

        • Kind of the same tactic used by you liberals. Your post gives you away as one. A person who sells their principles for their stomach or other self gratification is a hypocrite and worthless. Go back to the left. Your not wanted here. Blogger is disreputable for frequenting the business.

        • ^^^As opposed to the left-wing mindset that everyone needs to be told how to live their life according to your standards….

    • My “ok, so I’m a hypocrite” place is a rib joint near my shop. I just cannot not eat their ribs, and I carry past their 30.06 and 30.07 signage every damned time.

      Oh, and my credit union… gotta deposit the paycheck.

  13. Virginia has no such silly laws. Small no weapons signs adorn typically chain stores as a matter of corporate policy. Yet none seem to care. Our law carries no penalty unless you are asked to leave and don’t then it’s trespassing. I pay absolutely no attention to signs and carry (pun intended) on. All that said, these stores are not the enemy, your state legislature is. I wholeheartedly agree with the commenters about discrimination. IF, the courts insist on forcing businesses of public accommodation to serve the general public then so should we be included in the “special” category of protected persons. However, I believe we need to end all anti-discrimination laws immediately. Let the free market system work as intended. I find it really hard to think that any business that makes it their business to advertise “We don’t want your kind here” will stay in business very long; and laws aren’t needed for that to work.

    • Yup. NO GUNS signs carry zero force of law here and that’s as it should be. If the owner/manager of a business feels so strongly that guns shouldn’t be allowed, let him/her ask me to leave. I will be happy to do so.

      The point is valid — it’s unfortunately difficult to boycott Google, Amazon, and Apple when I must use and service their products in the course of my work. But those very companies prove one thing: if an organization hates on your Second Amendment rights, chances are high they hate on your worship, speech and privacy rights, too. So when I can, I don’t patronize businesses that disdain gun owners.

  14. For me it depends on a few factors.

    First, can I get what I need from another vendor at a reasonable price in terms of money and time?

    Second, how anti-gun are they? In Colorado signs have no legal weight unless backed by a checkpoint equiped with a magnetometer, so I generally ignore them. I’ve never been caught doing so and asked to leave but if I was I generally wouldn’t return.

    Third, how vocal is the business? It’s one thing to have the signs. It’s a whole other kettle of fish to actively campaign against the rights of your fellow countrymen.

    So, it’s a bit of balancing act where I avoid the hardcore antis but ignore some of the more milquetoast ones because if I boycotted everyone I disagreed with I’d have no place to shop for a lot things.

    • Same state for me, same outlook. But I generally carry concealed where I please. The only places (aside from FedGov, where I rarely go) and USPS (where I carry anyway) that I don’t carry are public places with metal detectors (Coors Field, Pepsi Center). I go there so rarely it hardly matters.

  15. The only places that can legally restrict me (federal & state buildings, schools, establishments that get >50% of sales from on sale alcohol) I have little reason to ever go. Everywhere else I just go about my business and pay absolutely no regard to whether they have a problem with me packing or not. Couldn’t care less because I’m gonna anyway.

  16. Robert Farago says: September 16, 2017 at 17:09
    I forgot I was packing heat. That is all.

    I missed out on that last post, but cannot help but take a stab here; since you brought the topic back up and all…

    AWE BULLSHIT

    I don’t know you, but let’s be honest here, I simply cannot imagine not knowing your packing, period. Forgetting you left one in the truck console, I’ll go there. Forgetting you left one in a backpack as you see the light bulbs all go off in the airport security line, yeah I’ll go there too. Forgetting you have one attached to your body? Sorry…

      • Seriously? You’ve never forgotten that you were packing? What about the opposite? Forgot that you took your gun off?

        NO! NO!

        Seriously, not trying to flame you, I respect your efforts too much for that. But I’m sorry Robert, I CANNOT believe you are being honest with yourself or us. I simply cannot comprehend not knowing your packing, or not.

        • I’ve forgotten before. Very comfortable holster. Walked right into a rehab/nursing home got half way down the main hall and realized it and turned around and went back to the car.

        • Had to renew my license recently and the DMV is one of the few legally restricted places here. I’m not going to say I forgot I was carrying, but I did forget that I can’t carry in there until I was already inside. I think there were some small 3″x5″ placards on the door that may well have been no-smoking signs.

        • Back when I carried an LC9 in a super-comfy Garrett IWB holster, I would sometimes wake up from couch naps and be totally unconscious of the fact that I was still carrying for several minutes.

      • Nope, never forgotten either way. If I have a gun on me or not on me, I know. Saying you forgot is just looking for a lazy excuse to cover your ass. You didn’t forget. You were carrying & chose to go in anyway because a ham sandwich is worth more than your morals.

      • Going through security at Hartsfield I set off the stupid light. I must have been a sight patting myself down for the gun I was so use to carrying. Realized it was the flashlight once I slapped the coat pocket it was in, and I am sure the whole spectacle left whatever real cop was on hand laughing at my expense. Still have that old two AA Maglight that was a freebie from Adaptec from the days shortly after “You can’t professionalize unless you federalize.”

  17. Just do a better job of hiding it, and no one will know.

    As Cormac McCarthy wrote in No Country fir Old Men, “When the shooting starts, do you want to be armed, or do you want to be legal?”

  18. I don’t overthink it. I don’t see how living a spiteful life in a basement not trusting everyone and believing everything is a conspiracy is a life worthwhile, but to each their own.

    You are going to meet people and businesses you don’t agree with but this is a simple issue. Anti-gun laws and gun control are simply unconstitutional and the people pushing it aren’t even clever enough to hide the fact it’s all just a lame tyrannical political power game.

    So f’ em and do whatever makes you feel good about your principles. If I think their unconstitutional BS trumps their product and I can live without it, so be it.

    • Amendment:
      But it should be noted I keep a mental checklist of every person and business that is anti-gun / anti-constitutional, and, if given the opportunity, I would give them the chance to die for their beliefs.

      I no longer see the point arguing with people, instead I let them put their money where their mouth is and will not render aid to hypocrites.

  19. ” Would I frequent a restaurant that refused to serve blacks, Jews or gays? No. So why are legally armed Americans exercising their civil right any different?”

    Well, you kind of hinted at an answer in your next paragraph…

    ” I shouldn’t have returned to Baguette et Chocolat when they posted their 30.06 and 30.07 signs”

    See, unlike those signs that say they will not serve Jews, gays, or blacks–actions which are both not provisioned by any law AND which are patently unconstitutional–the posting of 30.06 and 30.07 signs *is* entirely within the letter of the law. Moreover, no court has ruled that such signs either violate the 2A, or that the 2A even applies to carry in private establishments–in fact all the rulings that I am aware of say that it doesn’t.

    So I submit to you RF that your misstep in this matter was because–as much as you’ll hate to admit it–you are well aware at some level that the right to carry a gun is in fact NOT the same as a black man’s right to be served lunch at a lunch counter.

    • “See, unlike those signs that say they will not serve Jews, gays, or blacks–actions … which are patently unconstitutional.” Um. No. There is no provision of the Constitution that prevents a private party (a business) from discriminating against people based on race, religion, gender, etc. The 1A does, arguably, guarantee the right to discriminate, though.

  20. I am a frequent patron of this establishment. They have the best bread this side of Paris. I carry concealed, but I respect their wishes and do not carry there. They have every right to ask patrons to not carry, and their 30.06 and 30.07 signs could not possibly be more prominently displayed. Farago was a *repeat offender*. They didn’t call the cops – they called the City’s general information line to see what they could tell Farago, who was admittedly breaking the rules. The City sent cops – the owners didn’t ask for cops to come.

    The owners are *excellent people*. I have spoken with both of them on numerous occasions. They left their native France to come to the United States because they wanted to start a business. One of the owners gave up a good professional career to now work in the back washing dishes and making food. **They wanted to live the American Dream.** They are *exactly* the kind of people who we want to come here and make our country stronger. Anyone who took the position this was a case of ‘foreigners need to go home’ is an asshole straight up.

    They just announced they are taking down their Facebook page because of the deluge of nasty and improper comments, and they are getting bullshit one-star reviews based on this political matter.

    I will make it a point to patronize them as much as I can now. What has happened to them at the hands of the readers of this blog is deeply unfair and anyone who participated in the effort to destroy this business and this family should be ashamed of him- or herself.

    • “What has happened to them at the hands of the readers of this blog is deeply unfair…”

      Like hell it is unfair.

      They are fully within their right to have that policy, and RF was fully within his right to publish his experience with that policy.

      Kinda strange how the French may hate guns so much yet their government lauded 3 Americans who disarmed a terrorist with a full-auto AK-47 bare-handed on a public train:

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-french-train-suspect-is-interrogated-questions-mount-on-europes-security/2015/08/23/088ff2fe-4923-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html

      The owners of that business aught to think very carefully about alienating 50 percent of the state of Texas with a bigoted ‘policy’ like that…

      • If they wanted to open a “gun-free” establishment, why did they leave the paradise of France to come to the land of FREEDOM? Seems like a silly decision, though not unlike moving from a hell-hole like CA and then working to make your new home just like your old one.

      • I’d say it is unfair, but that is the world we live in today. Don’t want to participate in a gay wedding? The left will try to destroy you. Don’t want guns at your business? People on the right have learned from the left, and I guess some have adopted a “can’t win for losing attitude.”

    • I have no experience with this kind of targeted discrimination here in VA, but I can say we have exactly the opposite going on here by some businesses. A typical example, a local pizza shop offered 20% discount for all Military in Uniform, First Responders, AND people Open Carrying Firearms. Their business quadrupled in the first year.

    • I do not encourage or condone any effort to “punish” Baguette et Chocolat’s for their no-guns policy — short of a boycott. They have the right to restrict firearms on their premises. Just as we have the right not to eat there.

      Which I shouldn’t have done.

      It’s wrong and hypocritical to promote gun rights and give money to those who restrict them. And I should have respected the owner’s wishes for his/her restaurant to remain a “gun free zone.” Even though I did so inadvertently.

      As for the restaurant’s contention that they didn’t call the cops, what difference does that make? They could — I still say should — have simply asked me to leave. I would have left, apologetically. Which is what I did when the police arrived.

      As the owners have always been nice enough people, I can only guess they were too scared to ask me. Scared by the (I thought concealed) gun on my hip.

      The fact that I’d previously told them that I wouldn’t return — and did — provides some measure of justification for their fear. But as I wrote, I was clean, polite, friendly, reasonably well-dressed and paid in full for their food.

      In fact, I’ve never been anything less that polite inside their cafe. Even when I complained about their no-guns signs.

      I’m not proud of what I did that day, either by going and packing when I did. But truth telling is this website’s raison d’etre. So I told the truth about what happened. Let the chips fall where they may.

      • They have the right to restrict firearms on their premises.

        What is this newly founded right? From whence doest it cometh? Certainly not the United States Constitution. Perhaps you mean they are compliant with state law. But IMHO your state law is UNCONSTITUIONAL.

        • The Bill of Rights protects citizens from the government. It does not stop private entities from ‘infringing’ on other person’s ‘rights’. So with all due respect, in fact business owner is within their rights to tell people that the cannot exercise rights that government would not be free to infringe.

        • Resident, do you say the same about posting “no Jews” signs or such? Does not seem to me you’ve thought this through, completely.

      • “It’s wrong and hypocritical to promote gun rights and give money to those who restrict them. ”

        Robert, we’re ALL hypocritical in some way. We’re human. That’s just the way it is.

        I try to avoid going to places that have the 30.06/30.07 signage as much as possible. Sometimes you just have to do it anyway. When I do, I make it a very quick trip and get out. For instance, I’ve always loved going to Half Price Books. I go in there for only one thing, used Tom Clancy hard covers. That’s it. I got my list of the ones I need and I do my quick look and get out.

        Some people will say they’ll just carry anyway and basically break the law. Well, that’s fine if you don’t have a family to support and have time and money to spend on a defense and going to jail. Some of us have responsibilities greater than the “fun” of poking the bear and risking jail.

        We all have an opinion and should agree to disagree. Robert, you didn’t have to let us know about your experience. But you did. And I for one respect you for doing that and will not be critical.

      • “As for the restaurant’s contention that they didn’t call the cops, what difference does that make?”
        It makes a huge difference. If the owners had called the cops, it would be safe to assume it was because they were scared.
        But that’s not what they did. True to the socialist French stereotype, they called the city government to ask what to do. They literally called big brother to come and help them remove you for exercising your civil rights. Think about that. These people are so phenomenally irresponsible, unprofessional, and just plain juvenile, that they couldn’t even just walk up to a customer and ask him to leave. They weren’t scared of you in the slightest, they simply wanted to deny you of your civil, constitutional, and human rights, and they wanted someone else to do it for them.
        Pathetic.

      • Have you ever tried to have an “intelligent” conversation with them about the topic?
        Have you ever organized a demonstration in front of their establishment to increase awareness of their stance on the 2nd Amendment?

        It’s wrong and hypocritical to promote gun rights and give money to those who restrict them.
        or is it wrong to simply write about it in a blog and not actually take affirmative action to affect real change?

      • “They could — I still say should — have simply asked me to leave. I would have left, apologetically. . .”

        Exactly. Except that they’re French which is a country with a cradle-to-grave bureaucracy that intrudes on every aspect of everyday life. Because of their upbringing and life-experiences these wonderful people’s first thought was to call the city bureaucracy for advice on what to do.

        What this tells me is that it never entered these people’s minds to simply approach Robert and politely ask him to please not bring a gun into their restaurant. This is Texas, after all. Had they done this they might well have kept Robert as a highly complimentary customer and avoided the entirely justified condemnation they’re now receiving. What they did may not piss people off in France, but it sure as hell does in Texas.

      • The fact that they didn’t ask for cops to come makes all the difference in the world. Think about this from their perspective: here’s a guy who we know carries guns. Against our policy. He’s told he he won’t come back. Now he did come back and we think he’s carrying again. This is a really uncomfortable situation for them, so calling authorities on advice on how to handle an armed guy who said he wasn’t coming back seems pretty logical. We on the pro gun side should try to understand that lots of people are literally scared of guns, rightly or wrongly, and we don’t do ourselves any good by just thinking such people are silly.

        The problem to me is that this business didn’t pick this fight. Yes, they have a no-gun policy, and they post the signs, but they didn’t go out on line and tell gun owners to f-off. This fight started because Farago broke their rules, twice, they reacted reasonably, and then he wrote blog post about it. The *entirely predictable* result of that post was that they would start being harassed. Not just boycotted, but harassed. People who’ve never been within 1000 miles of their establishment posting one-star reviews and talking out of their asses about poor food and service, intentionally trying to harm this business . This sort of thing happens on both sides of many political issues and while the Right is generally better about this than the Left, it’s still predictable. And totally unfair. With all due respect, I think that Farago owes them an apology for picking a fight they didn’t ask for and don’t deserve. I’m happy to say that local Facebook and other social media groups are passing around word about this and I expect their business may actually improve as a result – sort of a reverse Chick-fil-a effect.

        As to the commenter who said they acted just like Frenchie Socialists – please pay careful attention: THEY MOVED HERE FROM FRANCE TO GET AWAY FROM THE SOCIALIST ANTI-BUSINESS CLIMATE. They wanted to work hard (and anyone who knows anything about bakeries understands the labor and horrible hours) and be rewarded for their hard work. And they do and they have. They follow the immigration laws to the T, with proper visas and even had to return to France to apply for their extensions when the first ones ran out. These are good people who don’t deserve to be attacked by no-nothing morons who react stupidly to a blog post wherein a guy *carrying a gun* who broke their rules, repeatedly, complained about them reacting seriously to him breaking their rules repeatedly.

        I was the first person in line there this morning. I bought a baguette and made myself a ham sandwich for breakfast. The chocolate croissant is singing its siren call still…

    • Bee Cave, I do sympathize with these owners, and I really hate how people weaponize the anonymity of the internet to do their SJWing.

      BUT they had to go to extreme measures to put up these signs. I’m no Texan, but it sounds like you’re making a clear statement by posting 30.06/.07 signs, and they made it. Free speech and association goes both ways.

    • Meh. Let them go back to France. I don’t know whether they’re now U.S. citizens and vote, but if they are, smart money says they vote liberal, aka, France-like. Even if they don’t, they’re still spreading their anti-gun B.S.

      Their right? Of course. Don’t harrass them or their business.

      Making America great again? Just the kind of immigrants we need? No F’ing way.

    • That’s a great story, and they are absolutely within their rights to post whatever signs they wish. That being said, they also must understand that their actions have consequences. Much like Kaepernick found out with his ‘protest’.

    • In order for the owners to enjoy the “American Dream” they should become Americans and forego their previous life. Including their hoplophobia. Real Americans have guns and know what they’re for. Or at least don’t begrudge those that do want to own and carry them. Besides, what other right has a prior restraint attached to it like the 2nd? And since you’re going to frequent their establishment unarmed you might want to let them know that there will be Constitutional Carry in TX soon. They might want to cogitate on that and it’s implications for their biz.

      • Might also mention that unless they have *armed* security on site at all times, they are going to have their asses sued off if a CC licensee is injured during an armed robbery on their premises.

    • Resident of Bee Cave Texas,
      No, these are not at all the people we want here, whether they were born in the United States or not.
      First off, we don’t want people that willfully and actively deny others their natural, civil, and constitutional rights. This is a non-starter right there, and the last thing we need in America is another socialist who believes it’s their duty to deny Americans the rights that made this country great in the first place.
      Also, we don’t want people who willfully disregard the safety of others. I’ve been the this store, before they put up the .30-06 sign. (Yes I let them know I would not be coming back and I never have.) They have no security. The general shopping area has no security. There is not a police station close by. They intentionally deny their customers the right to defend themselves, then they refuse to take responsibility for their customers’ safety themselves. We don’t need, or want that kind of irresponsibility.
      Finally, we don’t want juvenile government sycophants. Your explanation that they called the city government asking what to do, and not the police, does not help their case at all. In fact, it makes it much worse. It makes it clear that they weren’t just scared of some (polite, quiet repeat customer on a date) crazy person, but instead their only real concern was denying the rights of a citizen. They could have simply walked up to RF and asked him to disarm or leave. That would have been the decent, or just plain adult thing to do. Their are clearly neither. Instead, they called the government to ask for permission and ask for what to do. That is truly pathetic. They had to call the government to do their little dirty work for them.
      No, anyone that regularly carries a firearm should not give them a dime, and frankly, any decent adult shouldn’t either. We shouldn’t support people like that. I won’t.

    • Resident of Bee Cave Texas,
      As far as negative reviews and comments on social media and the web, I highly encourage anyone, everyone to do exactly that. It is important that we let everyone know when we see this type of ignorant, irresponsible behavior. Calling out businesses that behave unprofessionally, and who deny customers their civil rights, is a good a proper thing to do. Let everyone know what kind of trash is in the neighborhood and the area will stink a lot less.

    • Blah, blah… We saw your carbon copy posting in the original post. Copy-paste that bullshit on Huffpo while you’re munching on a croissant & steer clear of TTAG.

  21. I like to petition the city council to ramp up efforts to widen / improve the streets in front of the particular business, then push to have city funding dawdle through other requested projects / utility upgrade easements.

    Makes for a strain, strain is good.

  22. “do you boycott all “gun-free zone” businesses (including U.S. Post Offices)?”

    Get real. The US Post Office is not a “business.” If it was, it would have been consumed by competitors years ago. It is a government-run monopoly. Many laws are in place that require us to “do business” with the US Postal Service.

    Personally, I avoid giving my money to businesses that hate the Second Amendment. This includes certain local establishments as well as some national chains like Buffalo Wild Wings. Thankfully, Anti-2A signage is fairly rare where I live.

  23. Any business can make the call to go “Gun Free” Zone. But it should be a reasoned decision using common sense and logic. Thing is, most do not reason this issue through and so they violate the rights of law abiding citizens while inviting criminals to to prey on a defenseless business. I carry concealed.

  24. Normally those pictogram signs depict a specific firearm not being allowed on the premises. The most common I note is the one disallowing compensated .50AE Desert Eagles, but occasionally I’ll see a ‘no 1911’ sign or a ‘no Beretta 92’ sign. Since I own an XDm and not the specified firearms, I freely disregard the sign, though I do occasionally wonder what the owner has against these specific pistol models.

  25. I try not to make it political, in that I don’t keep an enemies list of verboten establishments based simply on their carry policies. As it turns out, businesses with those policies generally have other faults I avoid. (Poor customer service, overpriced, pretentious customer base, etc.) So the motivations overlap and I don’t visit, without me having to commit to a firearms stance of my own.

    That said, I don’t like companies that go out of their way to address a non-existant problem. Yes, this could apply to concealed carry, but open carry bans are what get my Irish up.

    Whataburger and H-E-B had no problem with concealed carry for the last two decades, yet when OC became the law in Texas in 2016, they both panicked and put up OC banning signs. In these past near two years, I’ve never seen anyone in a city open carrying, except at a gun related event or business. It isn’t a thing.

    So I’ve boycotted those two pantywaists ever since, primarily for their being senseless opportunists, rather than the signs themselves.

    • I go to Kroger rather than HEB as well, but I’ve got no major problem with places where only 30.07’s are posted and it’s largely a matter of convenience.

      I will, however, typically try to avoid places that post .06 signs.

    • “open carry bans are what get my Irish up.” Is that racist? Should I be offended? Should we boycott Jonathan?

      On a more serious note, I’ve never noticed any signs at HEB. If they have them at my HEB, they aren’t conspicuous. I don’t like Whataburger, so I haven’t had the opportunity to notice.

  26. If it’s just the State signs I ignore it. But business that do political obnoxious advocacy I do go out of my way to boycott.

  27. Yes 101%
    There is always someplace else to get what I need at any given time.
    Even though the signs in Florida carry no weight.
    If its posted I go elsewhere.

  28. I live in Utah. Signs don’t have the force of law, but if a store has a sign, I don’t patronize it. That said, I keep a lookout for signs and have only seen one at Whole Foods (and it is a tiny sign). I also never go to the post office.

    In Utah, there are very few places a permit holder can’t go. I can carry in bars, schools and public buildings.

    I don’t carry is when I go to the doctor for something likely to require me to undress or when I go to the dentist. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ohio-man-72-accidentally-shoots-dentist-article-1.2775583

  29. Yes I do to the extent possible. Apparently the Post Offices in Alaska haven’t gotten the word about no firearms. There are no signs on the two I have been in.

    Concealed means concealed. If that means off-body carry, so be it.

    I don’t use Google and while I do have a facebook account, I use if for two things-pictures of kids and posting about our 2nd Amendment rights.

  30. The only business that had a gun buster sign at their entrance took their’s down about a year ago. I can happily say I don’t frequent such stores but mainly because there are none and many have a ‘guns are welcome’ sign.

  31. Just discovered that Hilton has a no gun policy after staying there this week. Marked on their doors (although not well and not every door) and on their web site. I will not be staying at a Hilton again. Ever.

  32. My doctor’s office is “gun free”. I don’t carry there so that I weigh a couple pounds lighter when they put me on the scale.

  33. Not many signs in my part of the world. Even in stores that have a gun free corporate policy. Mostly I pay no attention to the signs as I carry concealed. Never been asked if I was carrying even in the police/sheriff buildings. If it don’t show they don’t know.

  34. Boycott? No. But as a general rule I avoid doing business with places that prohibit firearms. I make exceptions when I have a good reason to, and simple convenience is NOT a good reason.

  35. I generally boycott based on 30.06 signage. There are exceptions but not very many and not often. I generally won’t boycott based upon 30.07. The Post Office doesn’t have to be posted incidentally, it’s a matter of Federal law. I do have to go in there from time to time even if I don’t want too. I generally leave the gun in the car, although that’s a violation as well. For the most part, I take the 30.06 posting as an indication that they don’t want my business and I oblige them. I’ll generally do the same if a store is improperly posted.

    The thing that bugs me the most about Roberts incident has only been touched on a couple of times, and that is that he told them he wouldn’t be back and then did the reverse. It’s a small business, you didn’t expect them to remember your stance? Not to mention the hypocrisy.

    I too like European bread and hate that we can’t get good bread here, but I wouldn’t go to the store under the circumstances. I think we all have the right to make such a decision and even to make that known, but to stoop to harassing them on social media and leaving undeserved low ratings is wrong. It does not make us look good to stoop to the level of our opposition and it is dishonest and wrong headed.

    Have I mentioned that this comment forum sucks and badly needs to be replaced with something else? If I haven’t, I should.

  36. Fact is 2A is about weapons, not guns exclusively. Post office visit, concealed knife or weapon other than a firearm. Any other place, if it posts prohibition, I take my money elsewhere.

  37. The 30.06 and 30.07 signs here in Texas specifically reference “license holders,” so I just carry concealed without a license and ignore all of them.

    • Because who wants to commit a Class C misdemeanor when they can commit a real misdemeanor with possible arrest and jail time.

  38. Question of the Day: Do You Boycott “Gun Free Zone” Businesses?

    I do, but apparently the hypocrite Robert Farago still goes.

  39. Where I live, I’ve only ever seen one business posted–a Thai place I only went to because it was the site of a farewell lunch for a coworker. I wasn’t wowed by the food and have no reason to go back, so I can gladly say that it’s been a non-issue for me thus far.

    If I’m eventually faced with the choice of either disarming or taking my business elsewhere when the business in question is one I enjoy, I don’t think it would be a huge sacrifice to stop giving them my business. I’m already a homebody anyway.

  40. i would say no and yes, simultaneously. really only for those few things which are unsourceable elseplace. it wasn’t an issue before carry became legal here, y’know?
    if that place serves the bee’s cave’s knees, then yum. it would be the statist owners that would have me scouring the area for ghetto tacos; i’ll make my own “crepes”, thanks.
    i really disagree with the sympathizer above who thinks that we need people to move here from abroad to help further restrictions on our freedom. i don’t care how hard they worked or what they gave up they need to understand that their decision to post may elicit some reactions.
    maybe ttag should invite them to the range?

  41. I live in a State where relatively few law-abiding citizens can carry.
    That’s probably the reason why businesses don’t seem to care about no-gun signs, they already assume nobody is armed (besides criminals, but they can’t read signs).
    Which turns out to be a good thing, since if they were really showing their “2-A support” (sarc.), probably I would have nowhere to go.

  42. I don’t patronize businesses with posted 30.06 and 30.07 signs. Likewise, retail establishments that oppose open carry, where legal, are on the same “Do Not Patronize” list. Yep, reduced choices but as long as some of us can exercise Free Choice in the USA, I’m gonna walk the talk. Period. (Also, for those businesses that have made the choice to post both signs, please be sure the manager is informed (if it’s your first visit) and leave a card so stating this fact. Cards are cheap!

  43. The shop is within its rights, under Texas law, to go out of its way exclude lawful gun owners from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights within the confines of said premises. Citizens so prevented from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights also have rights under the 1st Amendment – which the owners of said business do not have the right to restrict.

    As I’m sure they’ll get around to reading this sooner or later, here’s the simple math, ya’ll. While you may (under current circumstances) have the authority to deny others of their rights, understand please that the “American Dream” cuts both ways. You are not victims. You are losing business because you went out of your way to deprive others of their rights (just because you could), and you are reaping what you have sown.

  44. I will respect the USPS regulations, also schools, establishments that serve alohol, and any other facility that is listed by federal or state law as a no carry zone. But where I live there is no such regulation that private business can dictate this. If they have a “No firearms allowed” sign, it doesn’t matter to me. I haven’t broken any laws. If they notice me carrying, (never has happened) they can ask me to leave and I will. Simple.

  45. Yes, I do. Handing my hard earned dollars to the fascists who actively work to violate, and to have government force violate, my civil rights would be voluntarily giving aid and comfort to my literal enemies.

    Telling a business you’re boycotting them because of their anti civil rights efforts, and then repeatedly going back to patronize them after telling them you won’t? Well, if you don’t mind proving to people who already don’t have any respect for you that you’re a blowhard and a liar, go ahead. Just remember that you’re reinforcing their prejudiced views of gun carriers as jackasses and idiots, and by doing so you are not doing the rest of us any favors.

    This brings up one of the advantages of open carry. When you OC, it forces the closet tyrants out into the open and you find out exactly where your civil rights are welcome. Some places that don’t want to scare away business by posting signs will throw you out if they actually see your self defense tools.

    When it comes to indirect spending, like Facebutt, yep, they and all the subdomains of Zuckerland are banned by my wifi router.
    Google, I use DuckDuckGo and Bing when possible, but sometimes do a Google search when others fail me. Youtube(Googletube), I often watch embedded videos that are hosted there when people post them to web sites I frequent, but I don’t actually go to youtu.be. LG did me the favor of banning youtube from my TV for me, I just wish they didn’t feel the need to remind me every time I access the internet options on my TV.

    Android/Chrome? Not a chance. Even if Google wasn’t anti-gun I’d avoid Google’s efforts to sell my privacy to everybody who wants to buy it.

  46. My condolences, it’s a bad outcome all around. At least RF didn’t provide willful intent. Follow the rule of law. PotG have to decide if it’s worth disarming and risk having your firearm stolen from your vehicle in order to patronize an establishment. I honestly avoid being a patron of such places.

  47. I try my best to not support anti-gun establishments. I live in Pennsylvania surrounded by anti-gun states. I do not like to go to, much less spend money in NJ, NY, and MD. Recently did a trip to OBX North Carolina. Planned the trip so as not to stop in Md for anything. They can all suck it!

  48. Yes, I generally boycott them unless I have no other options, as is the case with the Post Office or Virginia ABC (liquor) stores.

    There used to be no issue with the liquor stores until our current governor, democrat Terry McAuliffe issued an executive order turning them into gun-free zones, along with all executive-branch state offices. He couldn’t get legislation passed to do it, so he did it himself with the stroke of a pen.

  49. In Pennsylvania, the signs don’t carry the force of law and I very rarely run into one.

    The odd thing is that my bank of 30 years+ was a small local bank until a regional bank from down south bough it about two years ago. They just recently posted no-guns signs at all of the branches (I ignore them for now and am working on changing banks – which is going to take a while). I don’t know of any other banks in the area with no guns signs (I checked several).

    This really makes me mad because, if there is one place that I really need to take my gun, it is to the bank. Do they really think that their stupid little sign is going to stop a bank robber?

    If they find out that I’m carrying and I don’t leave the premises when asked, it would be trespassing.

    Since I’ve been going there armed for over 20 years, isn’t there something about prescriptive easements? It would be an unusual case (but I don’t think I would bother).

    • “Since I’ve been going there armed for over 20 years, isn’t there something about prescriptive easements?” Unless Pennsylvania law is really weird, no. Prescriptive easements, if I’m remembering all my easements correctly, are easements the public obtains when people openly walk over or cut across someone’s property for a number of years without permission, and the owner doesn’t try to stop them. If you had permission, it doesn’t count. If you did it concealed, it didn’t count.

  50. ALL Day Every Day and I leave a card for the manager or in the suggestion box stating Good American Families who fought and died…… to build this country with guns…. or otherwise ur sorry surrender butts would be speaking some form of British/Russian/German/Japanese/French Bullshoot hogwash bowing to the emperor.

  51. My top reasons to boycott a business:
    (1) Annoying advertising campaigns. Example: Progressive Insurance
    (2) Affiliated with or supports leftist causes. Example: Kellogg, Progressive, Amazon.com…
    (3) Deliberately apes another business. Example: Mic Donalds, Tommies (in lieu of Tommy’s)…
    (4) Plays hip-hop music anywhere that someone can hear it.
    (5) Emails customers more than once a year.

    And just added:
    (6) Calls the cops on a customer just out of spite.

  52. Well as my pastor once said “If there were no hypocrites in the world, we wouldn’t need Jesus and you wouldn’t be here.” Everyone is a hypocrite at some point in time, it’s just what you choose to be a hypocrite about that really matters. But although I do make it a general rule to ignore places with no gun signs, it’s not written in stone. I do diversify my spending though because of the way several corporations and businesses have ticked me off at various time, whether it was gun related or not.

  53. In comments on the initial TTAG article by Farago where he fessed up to being a hypocritical dumb@$$ offering readers of his blog the bogus excuse that he simply “forgot” he was strapped with a two and a half pound 1911 poorly concealed under a t-shirt, I wondered if was possible for Robert to make a bigger @$$ of himself than he already has, well apparently it is, this lame article proves that.

    Let’s review the incident, first RF takes offense when a year and a half ago the anti-gun liberal shop owners post big @$$ 30.06 & 30.07 signs on the door clearly communicating that they’re liberal gun haters, then RF protest the posting of the signs to the owner and receives a figurative “f–k you we hate gun toters and we ain’t takin the signs down” response to which you’d assume Mr Gun Blog (aka Mr Weed Blog) would counter by refusing to ever set foot in the establishment again, but no, RF continues to frequent the joint because he simply can’t kick his baguette habit and opts instead to blow off Texas law and dare the gun hating owners to do something about it which they finally do resulting in RF’s encounter with two lenient APD Officers who allowed him to weasel out of misdemeanor criminal charges after he lied his @$$ off by saying he didn’t notice the same big @$$ 30.06 & 30.07 signs he’d previously complained to the liberal gun hating owner about.

    Lay off the stuff you created your other blog to celebrate and maybe you’ll be able to stop compounding this string of dumb@$$ stunts. I lost count of how many times you’ve made a worse @$$ of yourself around number 6 or 7.

    I don’t have much sympathy for liberal elitest French immigrants arrogant enough to post a 30.06 sign on a Texas business, but using TTAG and your self serving account of the incident to hurt their livelihood is pretty $#itty. Have you thought about the fact that Austin is packed with liberal gun hating ambulance chasing lawyers who’ll gladly represent Frenchie in the civil suit that’s likely coming now that they’re squealing like pigs stuck under a gate about the harm you’ve caused to their business? Like it or not you’ve got exposure because it was you in violation of State law, not the Baguette shop. Even though you might get the coming lawsuit dismissed or maybe win at trial, you’re still going to have to hire your own lawyer and waste your own time and money, all over a dumb@$$ decision. Not being a hypocrite sure would’ve been a whole lot easier.

  54. booze and guns don’t mix other than that I don’t go anywhere without my weapon period. I won’t shop where I can’t carry. I miss all sporting games at the stadiums and places that are federal.

  55. I absolutely boycott anti-gun businesses, including those which are in favor of gun control but which haven’t posted their own premises, at least to the extent possible. Sometimes it is necessary to go to the Post Office, police station, courthouse, etc., and there is no legal alternative. I also use friendorfoe.us to figure this stuff out.

  56. I bring my gun wherever I want, because concealed means concealed.

    If somewhere asked me to leave, I wouldn’t go back – but it hasn’t happened yet because concealed means concealed.

  57. I respect their choice to be a GFZ….however, I have the option not to spend my money there. I always look for sings in a place we haven’t been before so I know if I want to go back.

  58. All? No — only the ones that are obvious about it, which since no signs are required here are pretty much the only ones you can know about.

    But I also avoid shopping where they’re silly about guns — my favorite being a store where in order to take my gun to the sporting goods counter I had to let an employee carry it, but when leaving I could just hoist it over my shoulder…..

  59. I am the 4th generation owner of several retail establishments that have been in business for 112 years now. Two things immediately pop into my mind here. First you don’t put your politics on your store front. Those signs are polarizing, unsightly, and a waste of valuable space. Second, you don’t advertise that you are dumb and vulnerable. If you put a sign up that reads “I don’t lock my doors at night” you’re going to attract burglars. That sign is an enticement for those with a criminal mindset for hold ups.

    If they can’t get the simple things right, they’re certainly not likely to have gotten the more difficult aspects of managing a food service establishment right; the health codes. I have no doubt that a place like that is run by people that aren’t big on hand washing, enjoy mining their nasal cavities regularly, and do not clean up after themselves. Pest control is probably non-existent because they’ve some environmental notion that serving you a roach turd sandwich is better than deploying pesticides to the environment.

    No, I am not eating there.

  60. I don’t consciously go out of my way to look for gunbusters but when I see them I ask myself if I really need what they are selling. The guy that bought my old college hang that was and is an institution around here, was a complete and total dick about posting his establishment. He did not get my business after that despite being one of the best bars in the state. I think it’s under new ownership now so I will have to go back and check the door.

  61. If it’s a legal sign I don’t go in and my dollars and I go elsewhere. However in Illinois, one sign and only one sign is legal. If it’s not 4 x 6 with a 4 inch red circle or fails in other ways, the sign is meaningless under the law. What’s amazing is the number of fails, particularly in the buildings of some state and government entities. I just go about my business of selling them ‘no suicide bomber’ signs. Give them the chance to feel warm and fuzzy before they feel warm and bloody.

  62. I actually have a printed and laminated car in my car and my truck with anti-gun businesses. Not one of them has had a nickel from me since they were added to the list. I wouldn’t frequent a business that refuses service to a minority either (When was this even last an issue?). I run extensions in my browser that blocks tracking and ad revenue for ad networks. I don’t use google. I limit my footprint as much as I am aware of an entities gun stance.

    You raised a false moral equivalency as some sort of way to minimize what you did with your principles. Just reapply that principle and move on.

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