In Illinois, private property owners can post their buildings “NO GUNS” with an Illinois State Police-approved sign. Doing so by the rules forces licensed good guys to leave their guns in their cars, under penalty of law.
If the sign they post is non-compliant, it does not have the force of law, and gun owners are free to ignore it without legal penalty. Period.
Illinois’ Firearm Concealed Carry Act spells out requirements for private businesses wishing to ban legally carried firearms on their property. Of course, the signs do nothing for those illegally carrying firearms, including those who wish to use those unlawfully possessed firearms to commit violent crime in a location where they can be assured there will be no meaningful resistance.
Some say those “NO GUNS” signs are like a dinner bell to lunatics, violent criminals and terrorists. Bad guys don’t want ‘anything to do with armed good guys. Ask yourself, “Is a bad guy going to pick a posted ‘NO GUNS’ location where he knows there will be nobody able to fight back, or will he pick a location where someone might shoot him dead for trying to victimize the innocent by threatening them with deadly force?”
Some businesses ignore the dangers of posting their business “NO GUNS” and go ahead and prohibit card-carrying good guys from carrying firearms on their property. However, not all of those signs meet the criteria set forth by the Illinois State Police.
Here are those criteria, direct from the Illinois State Police Firearms Services Bureau:
Requirements for Concealed Carry Signage
Owners of any statutorily prohibited area or private property, excluding residences, where the owner prohibits the carrying of firearms must clearly and conspicuously post the Illinois State Police approved sign, in accordance with Firearm Concealed Carry Act, at the entrance of the building, premises or real property. Please refer to Section 65 (Prohibited Areas) of the Firearm Concealed Carry Act for more information on statutory requirements for signage as well as where concealed weapons are prohibited.
Pursuant to Section 65(d) of the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, signs must be of a uniform design and the Illinois State Police is responsible for adopting rules for standardized signs. The Illinois State Police has proposed rules which require a white background; no text (except the reference to the Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/1) or marking within the one-inch area surrounding the graphic design; a depiction of a handgun in black ink with a circle around and diagonal slash across the firearm in red ink; and that the circle be 4 inches in diameter. The sign in its entirety will measure 4 inches x 6 inches.
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That concept seems lost upon some, who seem to think scribbling a sign with a big crayon that says “NO GUNZ” should somehow count in the eyes of the law. Sorry.
Others, like the Bloomington Pantagraph, were apparently unaware that non-compliant signs didn’t count in the eyes of the law.
Posting a non-compliant sign might cause gun owners to do their business elsewhere – as they generally prefer not to be in posted locations because of the increased danger of criminal attacks – but again, those with carry licenses are not subject to a misdemeanor charge if they enter a business with a non-compliant sign.
I mentioned that I was carrying at a debate this past Sunday in a large building that was improperly posted. The reporter picked up on it and it’s been causing a lot of controversy.
Today marks the third high-profile story in the Pantagraph related my statement.
State: Gun signs must comply to be enforceable
BLOOMINGTON (Pantagraph) — Ignoring a sign banning guns on private property in Illinois could lead to a misdemeanor charge, but the signs must comply with state guidelines for the ban to be enforceable.
State police responded Tuesday to an admission from the executive director of Guns Save Life that he brought a handgun into the former Bloomington Junior High School on Sunday where he was meeting with students of the McLean County Diversity Project.
John Boch told the group he believes he can ignore gun-ban signs if he believes the posting fails to comply with state police guidelines related to the concealed-carry law. Boch said later that the lack of a black line along the border of the sign makes it noncompliant.
State police agreed, saying deviations from the sign approved by the agency are not allowed and could be considered unenforceable.
When asked if a missing border could make a sign noncompliant, Sgt. Clare Pfotenhauer said, “It could be perceived that way.”
Jeff Schwartz, director of the Diversity Project, said he told Boch ahead of the meeting that the building was posted as a no-gun zone. Schwartz, who works in the building but does not own it, said Boch “was perfectly within his right, given the signs are not compliant.”
Concealed means concealed.
Concealed means concealed or mostly concealed in Illinios
“Concealed firearm” means a loaded or unloaded handgun
11 carried on or about a person completely “or mostly concealed”
12 from view of the public or on or about a person within a
13 vehicle.
I knew that would cause an uninformed stink on part of the lib-tards. They are always trying to ban things of which they have no understanding. Yet they feel we are the stupid ones.
I agree that if a sign isn’t compliant then it can safely be disregarded. This includes deviations from the official sign, posting in incorrect or inconspicuous locations, etc. However I’m not sure I see how the sign in the picture in not compliant. There appears to be a black border around the sign. the only thing I can guess is that the bottom line might be missing. I can’t tell from the picture in the article because of the reflection and the contrast though. Is the bottom line the issue?
Unless that’s the world’s smallest door, that sign isn’t 4X6″.
matt,
the definitions for the sign also include a size requirement which the above picture shows at a full sheet of paper (guesstimated) i may be wrong but it states 4″x6″
Due to the angled perspective of the picture I wasn’t even going to take a guess as to the size of the sign. I went to the linked article and it looks like they updated some of the information. According to the article the issue was that the bottom black border was missing.
I guess it would be more obvious in person. The dramatic perspective picture makes things less obvious.
If John said it was non compliant, and said he was ccw, them I am pretty sure it was non-compliant.
It can be bigger than 4×6 so long as it is proportionally sized.
4″ X 6″ is the size requirement, as established by the IL State Police. Nothing in the law mentions “proportionally.”
4×6 period
hey Jon; just a heads up. It seems Mayor Rahm is being asked to step down again by protestors.
So the mayor now claims that there are “no 2nd class citizens in Chicago”.
My question is, does this “No 2nd class citizens in Chicago” statement apply to people that own guns?
I guarantee that if the sign “technicality” worked out in the favor of the anti civil-rights zealots, then they’d be singing the tune of “You can’t go by the spirit of the law.. it’s what the actual letters spell out.”.
Words mean things. They are important. We abide by them, they have to also.
No gun sign means no business from me.
Jon. no question in my my mind you are at the forefront of our rights battle. I do not understand enlightening the anti’s. why not let them figure it out themselves. teach us not them.
GSL is big on public education. This haa been quite educational for many, I am sure.
While there are disadvantages to educating the raving gun grabbers, am I the only one viggling like a little schoolgirl at the spilled liberal tears?
I wonder why the Pantagraph keeps repeating. That he brought a gun into the former Bloomington Junior High School.The typical slandergraph reader will see school and gun.And OMG a gun in a School what’s wrong with these people. The building hasn’t being a School since the 80’s.
Thanks for volunteering as a test case, John, but everyone should be aware that local results may vary. Unless you are trying to prove a point, as John was, I see no reason to point out non-compliant signs.
I wish you wouldn’t have used the opportunity to educate them. I saw it on another news channel this morning and now many of the idiots will be changing their signs to ensure they are compliant, therefore keeping us out. That should have been kept on the down low. It would have been in our best interest in the long run.
I see no problem in educating those wishing to post the “No Guns” signage. They need to understand the ramifications of their decision if they do so.
Once educated, if they still elect to post the signage, then respect their decision and take your business elsewhere.
I have seen many noncompliant signs in moline today.
Could a business post this sign but the owners or employees be armed? Does one of these signs automatically mean no armed security? I don’t think gun free zones work. I think there are much bigger problems with people than just signs can or can’t fix, obvisiously.
No rational person thinks that a “no guns” sign actually works. Guns do not move around by themselves nor do they commit crimes by themselves. Whether they are used for good or evil depends on the person holding them.
People who intend to commit crimes in “gun free zones” don’t care about the signs any more than they do about the laws prohibiting murder, armed robbery, etc.
So, the people who post such signs are announcing that they 1) aren’t smart enough to figure this out, and/or 2) believe that you are about to commit a crime at any moment because you have a gun. Ask yourself why you would choose to give your business to someone like that.
I HAVE BEEN
I have been reading her articles in the Pantagraph,I loved reading that he had ignored the sign. What got me was she talked about licensed dealers and unlicensed dealers when talking number of guns sold.Unlicensed dealers?
She, like most reporters, isn’t a gunner.
She, like most reporters, doesn’t bother to do basic research on the topic she’s reporting. She just writes down what people tell her and then regurgitates it.
And then she will call herself a journalist.
Walk into a business in Chicago with your “mostly concealed” handgun, right past their “non-compliant” signage. You may think it’s all perfectly legal, but your opinion doesn’t matter. A judge will make that determination. A hoplophobic, statist, anti-2A, liberal judge will decide whether or not to lock you up.
Go ahead. Let me know how that works out for ya.
That’s why I conceal pretty well.
I drive truck and I hate to see those signs at the rest stops . I feel uneasy walking into any building that displays this sign that says come on in easy prey inside .
I saw a letter to the editor in the Pantagraph yday.
Some harpy says you should be held legally and morally responsible.
LOL. I bet you have a hard time going to sleep, don’t you? You evil man you.
Just kidding.
Gun carrying law abiding people shouldn’t be surprised by anti-life wing nuts.
They never have been the kind to perform their responsibility to ‘do their due diligence’.
I call these people are the kind who ‘open their mouth before they egage their brain’.
I guess it’s something they’ll never learn. Must be that missing part in their DNA daisy chain.