When I travel, I love to sample the local restaurant scene. The flavor and culture of a city really come through in the culinary experience.
Do you like to sample the local cuisine? Do you carry out to dinner in a different city?
What do your local laws say about firearms in restaurants that serve alcohol?
I carry everywhere even dinner in my city.
Local laws allow carry in a restuarant that serves alcohol however I never sit in the bar area. That parts seems a little grey to me but it’s not really my crowd anyways.
Always enjoy trying local cuisine. I usually look for restaurants that have been on triple D.
I love the Diners, Drive-in and Dives restaurants! They’re usually amazing, @Sheepdog556!
I carry everywhere in my Home state. And with my carry permit and Arizona law I can carry in places that sale or serves alcohol and has a bar in it. But I’m not allowed to drink any alcohol if I’m carrying. And I also have an app on my cell called Concealed Carry and it is free in the iStore or Google Play. And it will tell you the gun laws for every state. And I’ve used it to give info to people that had questions about gun laws from other states. And according to the app you can in PA carry in restaurants where alcohol is served. And you can also store your gun in you car as well. And this was all in the app under PA.
In Illinois the law is very much specific and probably hard to understand for even restaurant employees. The law hangs on Percentages. So, here goes, You can’t be in an establishment with a firearm if the place draws income 50% or more from alcohol beverages, if they’re making less than 50% on alcohol beverages it’s ok to eat food at this establishment. The hook comes in where and who do you ask about percentage? Do you ask to see the owners tax returns? Does the waitress staff even know percentage or care because they probably want you seated for their income with tips and food sales. It’s all very much up for debate. It could be used against you if an incident occurred.
Those types of laws are always fun, @Robert8!
You know Illinois it’s a Nanny State Dawn. Nearly every politician (not every) but at least every Democrat is deeply invested in the fantasy they know more, understand more, and are smarter than us intelligent people, but Sink Swirl opposition party are good pretenders.
I wouldn’t go so far as saying “every” of any specific group, @Robert8. I know a lot of people who lean Democratic who support the Second Amendment and I know a lot of people who lean Republican who don’t support the Second Amendment.
I would agree that Illinois is not a self-defense friendly state 
Last state to enact any concealed carry firearms laws. 50/50 in 2013.
And that was only under the threat from the Illinois SCOTUS, that Constitutional Carry would become legal if the legislature didn’t enact some mechanism for Illinois residents to legally carry firearms.
We can carry just about anywhere, as long as we don’t drink while carrying. I love food and will try just about anything, within reason. I’ll consult my ccw app, when in a different state, to see when or where I can carry.
If it’s legal I’m carrying. In Texas the only lawful restrictions we have in public are the 30.06 and 07 signage. If you violate them at worst you’re looking at a misdemeanor trespass fine and where I encounter them I generally respect them but if I’m in a high risk area I will take the risk and carry concealed.
Even if someone were to notice I can’t be prosecuted unless the owner/manager first approaches me, reads off the signage and asks me to leave and I refuse.
If you violate by carrying in restricted places like schools, court rooms etc it’s much more serious, you’re then looking at a felony conviction and you get no warning or opportunity to correct your “error”.
In Texas we have the 51% rule. If the establishment makes 51% or more of it’s income from alcohol they are require to post the 51% signage at every entrance where it’s easily noticeable and the signs must meet state code.
Those locations are restricted and if you get caught violating it is a felony.
In Texas you can carry and are legal drink as long as your BAC is below .08 except in the 51% restricted bars/restaurants.
A few months ago after attending a USCCA traning event in Lubbock, a friend asked me to join him for a drink at the motel restaurant which was a sports bar by theme as well. There was no signage at the entrance so we thought we were fine and it was only after we’g gotten about halfway through a drink that we saw a 51% sign posted on the inside header above one exit door.
The signage was not legal and this gave us a good training opportunity so I very quietly had the manager come over and explain the problem.
Technically we could have been arrested and probably charged had a cop come in and noticed that we were carrying but since the signage was not lawful there was no danger of conviction and we’d probably be able to get charges dismissed in a preliminary hearing but even that could cost us thousands and leave us with a recorded felony arrest that would cost us thousands of dollars and several years to get expunged from our records.
In Texas you have to walk a very fine line and you want to make sure you’re always on the right side of it even though in general we’ve gone from being one of the most restrictive carry states to one of the most carry friendly states in just over 20 years.
Believe it or not concealed carry was totally unlawful except for on duty Level 4 security, PI’s and Police in Texas until 1995! We had very “user friendly” self defense laws prior to 95 but you even ran a significant risk of being arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a handgun if you had one in your vehicle.
We had a “defense to prosecution” if you were traveling and way from home overnight, through five or more counties, carrying high value merchandise in excess of 5,000.00, en route to or from your home or business, a shooting even or hunting, but even with all of that it was up to the discretion of the officer to decide whether or not you would be arrested and the local prosecutor if you were charged. Basically you were deemed guilty until you proved yourself innocent in court under the exemptions.
It’s amazing how rapidly things have changed since 95.
I was going to post this in another thread but this map that shows the progression of concealed carry in the US in the modern era.
No sign rules here in this state. So it’s best to go back home or to a fast food restaurant I guess. Also; healthier food is much easier to obtain at home.
Unless posted with no weapons sign, and not a bar serving food as opposed to a restaurant serving alcohol (at least 50% income from food sales), you can carry in a restaurant if not consuming alcohol. If posted and you are asked to leave because you have a weapon, you have to leave or could be subject to a misdemeanor criminal trespass. Law enforcement officers (on-duty, off-duty and LEOSA qualified retired), prosecutors and judges who have special judicial permits can carry at all times and all places within the state except correctional facilities. If a LEO (on/off duty or retired) is asked to leave because they are armed, the person or organization asking them can be fined, $500 first offense, $1000 2nd offense and $2500 third offense. (They learn this after the police officer they called rights them a citation instead of the person they were asking to leave).
I know for a fact in Madison Wisconsin Buffalo Wild Wings told two off duty police officers to leave because they were carrying fire arms (a requirement for them) while out with their families for a dinner. They do have a sign posted but who would have thought they would ask LEOs to leave because they were not on duty at the time.
I will never give that store my business even if the corporate policy changes. I cant defend myself there and cant depend on the help of an off duty LEO because they must be unarmed also.
I should have prefaced my post with “In Kentucky,”
Missouri…yes, in the restaurant area only (not in the bar area without the consent of the manager), but not if posted and provided you are not intoxicated.
LOVE my state… so sensible!
When my wife and I travel, we always try to look up restaurants that have been on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We also look for some that have been on Man vs Food, some of those have looked amazing. We don’t go to take the challenges, more to try what looked like amazing meals. Also we like to ask, servers or other non front desk employees at the hotels we stay at for recommendations on local eateries.
Unless State/Federal Law specifically forbid it, I carry everywhere.
Aren’t dining establishments in Illinois that get 50%+ of their revenue from alcohol sales required, by law, to post those official “gun free zone” stickers on their doors?
