John wrote:Wow... a "Code of Conduct" for a mall? I've never seen such. Is that sign actually posted at the mall? My wife would be pretty mad at me when i read that and said, "come on, lets leave Now!".
To clarify, the Boardwalk isn't a "mall" as one typically thinks of such, but is a piece of property with very nice meandering cobblestone "streets", and a trolley line. The businesses are grouped into blocks, and each business is entered from an open-air door. For those of you who've spent any time in Europe, it's very reminiscent of a pedestrian shopping district, what the Germans call a "Fußgänger".
I see it on their web site, but i just can't believe a shopping mall would actually post something like that. I'm a displaced cajun, but i'm wondering what Louisiana is doing... banning guns in malls and stealing them from lawful owners in New Orleans. It's a sad time in which we live.
'Tis indeed a sad time.
The curious part is that Bass Pro is the flagship store, the first one there, and the website brags about it, but it stands to the side and is not connected to any other store. They don't ban guns at Bass Pro (although they do ask that guns being carried in for repairs be checked and wire-tied at the door, from what I understand).
We had no idea what to expect there; I thought it was more of an entertainment district, and I didn't understand that it contained so much shopping (or will eventually; it's new, and many stores are yet to be opened).
I'd noticed signs containing the "code of conduct" posted on side walls (i.e., not in your normal field of vision) at entrances from the parking areas. I didn't stop to read one until we were leaving. It's long, and took a couple of minutes to read, and is posted in less than 1/2 inch type. And the firearms portion is almost at the end. Good thing we were already leaving, and hadn't spent any money there.
From reading the Shreveport news over the last few months, I was aware of the crackdown on "gang dress" and drinking in public. Because the entire mall is private property, customers of Hooter's, Joe's Crab Shack, Saltgrass Steak House, Saddle Ridge Saloon, etc., were able to carry their drinks out as they strolled the mall. There were a few problems, so Bossier police started cracking down on "drinking in public", and all the alcohol-serving establishments posted notices warning patrons that they couldn't carry alcohol outside.
I mentioned before that the "mall" is open-air, and each business has its own outside entrance, but facing inward onto "mall" property. So, here's the curious dichotomy: is the open-air portion private, or is it public? If it's public, that would explain the ban on "public" drinking, and the bicycle patrol by Bossier PD. If it's private, that explains the right to ban firearms. But if it's both... well, that can only be explained by Louisiana politics.
I intend to explore this a little further, although I don't have high hopes of a satisfactory resolution. But I will tell them that I'll be warning thousands of Texas-based colleagues, every one of them authorized to carry a firearm off-duty, that they're not welcome at the Louisiana Boardwalk. I'll also be letting Bass Pro and other businesses know why I can't do business there.
Kevin
