Legal posting methods in Virginia

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I've been thinking about carrying in the Colonial Heights Southpark mall. I hardly ever enter anywhere other than at the entrance where the new Regal Cinema 16 is located. I have been told(not by any mall employee) that the mall is posted at the main entrance as a no carry zone. But there are no signs where I enter, and none at the entrance to the theaters that I can find, even though I read on this or another forum that Regal cinemas are anti-gun. My question, if the mall is posted as a gun free zone, is it legal if they do not have all entrances posted?

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IMO - as you are posting this here you know the mall is marked as a "gun free zone" - so you are aware of the policy.

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hsmith wrote:

IMO - as you are posting this here you know the mall is marked as a "gun free zone" - so you are aware of the policy.

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+1

CelticRedneck, having heard verbally that the mall is posted should satisfy himself that it is or isn't.

I recommend not OCing if it is posted or against their wishes.

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allow me to clarify. I have not open carried there, though I have carried concealed before someone told me that the main entrance is posted. It has probably been 5 or more years since I went shopping at the mall, so I only enter near the unposted theater. My question was concerning whether the signs have any legality if only one of 6 or more entrances is posted.

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celticredneck wrote:

... My question, if the mall is posted as a gun free zone, is it legal if they do not have all entrances posted?

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Remember, in Virginia, there is no such thing as a "legal" gun free zone, except the ones spelled out in the VA code (K-12 Schools, Courthouses, etc.)

If a property owner wishes to not have guns on their property, it is their choice, but there is nothing in the code that makes it illegal for you to carry against their wishes. This is very different from states like Texas and Minnesota (and others) whose state code spells out a specific sign and wording, that if posted, does make it illegal for a firearm owner to carry on posted property.

In Virginia, there is no firearm related charge for carrying a firearm on private property, against the owner's wishes. What does become a legal issue is refusing to leave when they ask you to leave. That's a trespassing charge, which is still not a firearm charge, but it is a legal charge.

I know many people who routinely CC on to private property that is "posted" as no guns, such as malls, with the theory that what they don't know, won't hurt 'em. I am not personally endorsing this action, but they are breaking no laws whatsoever, unless the property owner (or his agent) asks them to leave, and they refuse to do so.

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When I go into Potomac Mills Mall, which is NOT often, some of the entrances have a small sign posted with a list of rules for conduct in the mall. The sign is so small and unobtrusive, and the print is so small, that one could say they never noticed it. Also, the "rule" for not carrying weapons is about 13th on the list.