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.

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.”