PJ Media

My wife and I joined Costco a little over a year ago, mainly to take advantage of their eyeglass prices (previously, there was no Costco within 40 miles). I’ve visited it maybe a half dozen times since joining, but only on my last visit did I notice a no firearms sign. It was painted on a glass wall centered between the widely-spaced entrance and exit doors (so not all that visible from either traffic lane), and down low, adjacent to the pavement, where I believe it is usually blocked by sales displays on pallets, which is why I never noticed it before. Or, as I now see, perhaps it NEVER WAS THERE before, and was painted on by corporate in response to this very incident.

I immediately made a complaint using their suggestion box, saying that it was an insult to their patrons, and that I would be avoiding their store in the future. It would probably make more of a point for me to demand a refund of my membership dues, but getting that by my wife may not be easy (especially since the membership is in her name).

In Arizona, this sign is legal — there are no official posting format requirements except for bars and restaurants, and any sign that communicates a trespass will serve. However, there is no legal expectation that you are aware of the sign, so the management has to inform you and ask you to leave before further legal action is appropriate. Additionally, no sign is actually required — if the management asks you to leave even verbally for any reason without specific civil rights protections (e.g., “we don’t serve black people”), you are trespassing if you don’t leave.

For the record, this customer was legally in the wrong maintaining he had a right to be there. This turned his misdemeanor trespass into felony armed trespass. His being a jerk helped neither him nor us. That having been said, his offense was not a shooting offense, and these police officers were criminally out of line.