Private Businesses and Concealed Weapon Permits

Over the course of the past decade, virtually every state in the Union that did not previously have concealed weapon laws on their books have enacted such legislation. Indeed, at this point in time, 48 states have concealed weapon laws in force at this time.

The typical concealed weapon legislation includes language through which a concealed weapon permit holder if prohibited form carrying a concealed weapon into certain venues. For example, a person with a valid concealed weapon permit cannot carry a concealed weapon into places like governmental buildings, schools, certain public events and certain types of establishments that sell alcohol.

Beyond these prohibitions, if you are a business owner (a private business owner) you also have some rights in regard to allowing a person to bring a concealed weapon into your establishment. The bottom line is that in the states with concealed weapon legislation, there are steps that you can take in order to prevent a person with a valid concealed weapon permit from brining a concealed weapon into your establishment.

Generally speaking, according to the terms and conditions of the legislation governing concealed weapon permits in a typical state, as a business owner you have the absolute right to ban any private citizen who possesses a concealed weapon permit from bringing a concealed weapon into your business establishment.

In order to enforce a banning of people from your business who are carrying concealed weapons, a business owner like yourself needs to post an appropriate warning of your prohibition. In this regard, the typical legislation governing this type of prohibition of concealed weapons sets forth specifically what you must include in your warning in order for it to be effective. In other words, you must post a warning sign at the entrance to your establishment.

Provided you have followed the letter of the law when it comes to the warning sign you must post in regard to concealed weapons being brought in by people with a concealed weapon permit, you legally can ban these people from your establishment. If a person with a concealed weapon permit brings a concealed weapon into your establishment in such circumstances, that individual can be prosecuted criminally. Normally, the type of offense that a person with a concealed weapon permit in such circumstances will be based on a trespassing theory.

If you have any specific questions pertaining to prohibiting a concealed weapon permit holder from entering your business establishment with a concealed weapon, you need to make sure you are familiar with your own state's law on the subject. If you do have any additional questions, you should seek legal advice.

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