Larry H. Miller's Megaplex Theaters


91JEEPYJ

91JEEPYJ

New member
All the Megaplex theaters that I've been to here in UT have words posted on the lower glass of the front doors that reads "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED". I find this ridiculous!

Because I carry everywhere I go, and decided to catch a movie with a friend of mine while on that side of town, I was forced to leave my gun in the glove compartment of my car in the parking garage. This is a relatively dark parking garage and on the way into the theater I found myself thinking that it would be pretty easy to break into someones car and make off with all kinds of goodies (my gun included) because of the poor lighting conditions and the concealment provided all the tightly parked cars and large concrete pillars, not to mention in a structure like that where sound travels well, it's easy to hear someone coming from a distance. Despite my unease I went in for the movie (True Grit), my gun locked in my car.

In my seat before the movie started I was thinking about what would happen if someone did break into my car and ran off with my gun. I have the feeling that most of you here will agree with me in thinking that my gun is safer on my person than anywhere else. Let's say that my car was broken into and the thief ran off with my gun and knocked off a liquor store. I'd like to think that I wouldn't be held liable because I locked the gun in my car and out of sight, and the thief had to illegally break into my car to get my gun. Could the theater be held responsible? If it wasn't for their stupid (IMHO) policy towards law abiding gun owners, that gun would never have been in the car, let alone stolen and used in a robbery. A policy like this must mean that Megaplex Theaters doesn't trust law abiding citizens. If that's true, why are they even in business?! They are supported by law abiding citizens, myself included!! Why am I any different than all the others just because I decide to be responsible for my own safety and to a certain degree the safety of the others around me?

If I'm carrying a gun on my person, then I have complete control over it. With notices like "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED" posted at these theaters, or any gun free zone for that matter, these places are requiring you to remove your gun in public. Done discreetly or not, it's still in public where most people freak when they see someone who's not a cop taking a gun out. Even if that person were to put it directly into the glove compartment.

I'd like to think that Megaplex's tune would change if that same thief had robbed the theater instead of the liquor store down the street. It probably wouldn't, they'd just try and bar guns from the property all together (including the parking garages)... Just my two cents though.
 

Well I would find your state law on the actual requirements for the no weapon signage. Do you cc or oc ? If you cc and the signs aren't legal then concealed is concealed and besides it's a firearm not a weapon unless you choose to use it as such. One question though, how did you like the movie?
 
I have heard that people have been charged for leaving their gun in their car and it being used to commit a crime. As for the sign it reads no weapons my gun is not a weapon it is a tool that I use when my live is in danger. A weapon has only one use that is to kill or wound. Semantics is not a good thing to stand on so do as the above poster said and check what the laws says about the signs and your duty to follow them.

Another thing if you must leave you gun in your car get a gun safe. for if they break into your car your gun is now in a safe which has to be broken into. This shows that you took precautions to keep your gun safely secured in your car and for them to gain access to it required more then a screwdriver to pop the lock.
 
I run into that here at the local mall. They have a list of rules stated that are to be observed while there, and the last one reads no firearms or illegal weapons allowed. I normally don't go to the stupid mall, prices are way high anyway, but if I do I still carry. The worst they can do is tell me to leave.:wacko:
 
Hey Jeepy

Just curious, which side of town is "that side of town". The same day you were watching True Grit, I was at the Crossroads of the West gun show, directly across the street from Miller's Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons. Ironically, roughly half the cars in the Jordan Commons parking structure belonged to people at the gun show. :sarcastic:

For what it's worth, I would have ignored the sign. It's my inexpert opinion that No Weapons signs at private businesses in Utah lost their teeth after the Trolley Square trajedy.
 
Well, here in NC it is easy to get a CCW, but the list of places you cannot cary is so extensive it is almost not worth it.

One of the restrictions is that you can't cary anywhere that charges admission... so all theators and carnivals are out, posted or not.
 
Hey HardCorps,

Yup, Megaplex 17 in Jordan Commons on the east side is the specific theater I was referencing but all the Megaplex theaters have the postings, even the ones over here on the west side. As far as gun show parking, that's where I park too. :biggrin:

For the most part I obey the posted signs. Only one time have I found myself in violation. Shortly before Thanksgiving, after I had finished Christmas shopping for friends and family, I bought a S&W 360PD as a new carry gun (Merry Christmas to me:sarcastic:). I had been toying around with different holsters and was testing out a DeSantis pocket holster. It was soooo comfortable I can honestly say that I forgot I had it on me. Only after I had bought my ticket and sat down in my seat did I realize I was in violation of the posting. But at that point I wasn't about to get up, run out to my car, put my gun away, and run back in to catch the movie. There were no incidents to speak of.

After an experience like that, it kind of makes me think about how good my concealment skills really are. Do I feel comfortable enough to do that all the time? You know what "they" say... It's only illegal if you get caught.:laugh:

BTW, True Grit was awesome! I'm a big fan of the Coen Bros.
 
I guess Oklahoma must be a little different. When I applied for my ccw I started looking for no weapons allowed sign postings. I have been carrying for a while and still have not found one, even at the theaters. The law defines common places not to carry such as government buildings, schools, professional sporting events, bars, etc. My understanding of the Oklahoma law is that if a business posts no weapons allowed, they are ensuring your safety and if there is an incident that could have been prevented by concealed carry, they can be held liable in civil court.
 
Carry one small enough to truley conceal. I have no Idea how big or small you Are , so skull it out. just remember it's easier to beg for forgivness than ask permission.

Stay Safe My Friend;
Wizzard1949
 
Here in Michigan...

91JEEPYJ said:
All the Megaplex theaters that I've been to here in UT have words posted on the lower glass of the front doors that reads "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED". I find this ridiculous!

Because I carry everywhere I go, and decided to catch a movie with a friend of mine while on that side of town, I was forced to leave my gun in the glove compartment of my car in the parking garage. This is a relatively dark parking garage and on the way into the theater I found myself thinking that it would be pretty easy to break into someones car and make off with all kinds of goodies (my gun included) because of the poor lighting conditions and the concealment provided all the tightly parked cars and large concrete pillars, not to mention in a structure like that where sound travels well, it's easy to hear someone coming from a distance. Despite my unease I went in for the movie (True Grit), my gun locked in my car.

In my seat before the movie started I was thinking about what would happen if someone did break into my car and ran off with my gun. I have the feeling that most of you here will agree with me in thinking that my gun is safer on my person than anywhere else. Let's say that my car was broken into and the thief ran off with my gun and knocked off a liquor store. I'd like to think that I wouldn't be held liable because I locked the gun in my car and out of sight, and the thief had to illegally break into my car to get my gun. Could the theater be held responsible? If it wasn't for their stupid (IMHO) policy towards law abiding gun owners, that gun would never have been in the car, let alone stolen and used in a robbery. A policy like this must mean that Megaplex Theaters doesn't trust law abiding citizens. If that's true, why are they even in business?! They are supported by law abiding citizens, myself included!! Why am I any different than all the others just because I decide to be responsible for my own safety and to a certain degree the safety of the others around me?

If I'm carrying a gun on my person, then I have complete control over it. With notices like "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED" posted at these theaters, or any gun free zone for that matter, these places are requiring you to remove your gun in public. Done discreetly or not, it's still in public where most people freak when they see someone who's not a cop taking a gun out. Even if that person were to put it directly into the glove compartment.

I'd like to think that Megaplex's tune would change if that same thief had robbed the theater instead of the liquor store down the street. It probably wouldn't, they'd just try and bar guns from the property all together (including the parking garages)... Just my two cents though.
Click to expand...

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Our law specifies that you can't carry (OC or CC) in theaters (movie, live stage, opera, etc.) with a seating capacity of 2500, or more, total.
That's why I agree with one poster who advised you to read your state and local laws on the subject.
Few of our theaters have that much seating except for the really BIG movie theater complexes. An example in my area has 20 theaters with an average of 100 seats per theater (some have more - some less). Far less than required by Michigan's law.
Which allows you to carry regardless of what the sign says.
If you're carrying CC - unless you're outed somehow - no one will know.
if you're carrying OC, then all they can do is ask you to leave. You can't, legally, be charged with anything.
Good luck and stay safe.
 
Texas law is it must be the specific 30.06 sign in a certain size and contrasting colors. If it's not that I carry. They can ask you to leave and you must or end up in trouble, but concealed is concealed. They can't ask if they don't know.
 
CCW Rules

Check your State law before you make the decision to carry where "no guns allowed" is posted on the door. You will find that most States allow for the owner or manager of private property to prohibit carry on his property, even if you have a CCW permit. This includes publicly accessible places that are privately owned, like a mall, theater, restaurant, or other business, as well as private residences that are not normally accessible to the public. The law views this as a matter of the owner exercising his personal property rights.

I agree that the owner or manager who posts such a sign just doesn't get it and is endangering more people than he is protecting (since criminals pay no attention to the signs) and he only disarms law-abiding good guys with the sign.

But there is no law against misguided ignorance. It is his property, and he is, in nearly all States, allowed to prohibit weapons or firearms on his property.

If you choose to ignore the sign, you are technically in violation of the law. The worst that can happen (if someone actually sees your not-so-well concealed piece and reports it) is not just asking you to leave; it is having you arrested for a gun violation, which may result in the loss of your permit to carry and give you a criminal record, making it difficult for you to buy another gun for some time. In some States, your weapon would be confiscated and not returned to you.

If you decide the risk of not carrying is too great to comply with that law, that's a choice you alone can make. But make it with your eyes open, knowing the potential consequences.
 
Ok, I just found this website that has the legitimate law regarding carrying firearms in UT. This is the BCI website and it is the issuing authority here in UT for our Concealed Firearm Permits. Link Removed

I got in contact with an officer in the Salt Lake county Unified Police Department. After speaking with him, he assured me that any property owner (Megaplex Theaters in this case) can call the police if you're found in violation of a "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED" posting. They can try to have you arrested and prosecute you but the officer I spoke with told me that most of the officers, in the interest of keeping the peace, will reason with the property owner and just ask you to leave. This is assuming you stuck around (like an idiot:to_pick_ones_nose:) once you were informed that the police were going to be called. If you did get arrested, it's not a felony it's only a misdemeanor so your firearms right's would not be affected.

He told me that a firearm would be considered a weapon with regards to that posting but so would a pocket knife or a pair of nail clippers if one were to use the TSA definition of "weapon". He basically wound up saying that the broader the scope of the language the harder it would be for them to convict you. If Megaplex Theaters were to restrict their postings more specifically to "firearms" and not "weapons", and post the UT code authorizing such a prohibition, their case might be better. This would apply to private residence postings as well.

In this particular instance the Megaplex theater is not a secure area as defined by the BCI website. The officer said as far as he was aware the only "secure" areas he knew of was Courthouses, Jails and anything beyond the metal detectors at the airport.
 
In Texas the signage is very specific, after this weeks shooting in AZ, I carry everywhere as someone armed in a state that lawfully allows open and cocealed carry could have stopped this madman, the law enforcement community did not. Criminal means outside the LAW, shooting fish in a barrel is easy if the fish cannont defend themselves due to signage.
 
Michigan Theaters

It is illegal to enter a theater in Michigan with a firearm according to CCW law. Which that makes a theater a criminal impowerment zone. When will they learn!!
 
In Okla Law, all that is stated for a business is "nothing contained in any provision of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, Section 1290.1 et seq. of this title, shall be construed to limit, restrict or prohibit in any manner the existing rights of any person, property owner, tenant, employer, or business entity to control the possession of weapons on any property owned or controlled by the person or business entity." The Act is specific about violations with the exception of this section. It does not appear there is a violation of Self-Defense Act which governs concealed carry, but it may fall under a tresspass law of some other law. There is nothing in the act that allows for any punishment for carrying in a business posting "No Weapons or No Firearms Allowed". There are some places that you are specifically prohibited from concealed carry that have specific punishments, be it misdemeaner or felony. Theaters, Malls and Hospitals are not included in that list. In a conversation with my city's chief of police he stated that is the business found out you were carrying concealed he expected they would ask you to leave; if he was called that's all he would do. On the other hand, he said if there was an incident that you prevented possible loss of life, he would recommend you for an award from the city.

According to my class instructor who was a law enforcement officer, under the reciprocal agreements with the other states, those other states agree to accept the Oklahoma Self-Defense act as the governing law for Oklahoma citizens with concealed carry permits in their states.
 
There are many places in Oklahoma that you can't carry at. Stop by a bank, library, or 7-11 store for starters. Now given it's not near as bad as some states, that's why I live here too.

And as far as someone breaking in your car and you being liable: your car is different then your house. If someone breaks in your home and gets a weapon and hurts someone the DA will have to prove you were somehow negligent (left door open, didn't immediately report the theft when you noticed it etc...) but in your auto you can be charged because you didnt really secure your firearm. I have a high quality safe in both my cars and secure my weapon in them if I am not carrying. I also have a car alarm that has a keychain deal on it that tells me if my alarm is being activated. Whatever you do, don't walk up to a door, see the sign, then go back to your car. Lol
 
Fibro I can't find it in the actual law but I remember in the osbi booklet it said that businesses had the right to prohibit folks from carrying on their property and that you could get in a little trouble for violating that if caught. Just be careful. I pretty much carry everywhere but banks, post offices, and govt buildings, etc...
 
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