Do it anyway, unless prohibited by law.
What?? VA Medical Center is not a Federal Building, is it? If it's not, then that sign is bogus - unless it means that you can't carry in a manner that is in direct violation of Federal Law.
I think it has to do with the fact that it resides on U.S. property, rather than the fact of it being a hospital.
I have open carried a few times.
I might be the only one here to say this, but an employer has rights too. If we want others to respect our rights, we have to be respective of theirs as well. ALL rights are important, not just certain ones. One of an employers rights is to determine what's allowed on his/her private property.
what:don't ask me how).
Certain rights trump others. How bout if your company had a policy preventing from defending yourself in any way, shape, or form if assaulted while on the job or on the property? Do so much as put a hand up to protect from a blow and you're out the door. Would you think such a policy was their right too? My biggest problem with these "no weapons in vehicles" policies is that they also dictate your behavior when off the property, off the clock, and out of uniform! Such policies prevent you from being able to defend yourself even when you're not at work! If abided by, you are disarmed if at any point during your day you will be on company property, even for one minute. Park elsewhere, find a friend, find a new job? Not always possible, or practical. The RKBA to defend yourself is specifically codified in the federal & state constitutions. The right for a company to say what can & can't come onto it's property is not. Personally I think the law they passed not too long ago in Oklahoma is a good compromise, companies cannot prevent employees from keeping weapons in vehicles on the property, and they also cannot be held liable for any misuse of said weapons.J1Nitro wrote: I might be the only one here to say this, but an employer has rights too. If we want others to respect our rights, we have to be respective of theirs as well. ALL rights are important, not just certain ones. One of an employers rights is to determine what's allowed on his/her private property.
It would be like if you were having friends over to your house and they brought along a tarantula, and you were terrified of spiders (sadly, I am). So you have the right to ask them to take the spider off the property. Now wouldn't you be rather pissed if they came back to your house concealing the tarantula
While we may not always agree with company policy, by being employed there we agree to follow it. We can however make changes in our lifestyles to satisfy our employers wishes as well as our own.
My company has a policy that allows it to search vehicles parked on company property, so I park across the street. Before anyone jumps on me, yes, I know they have no legal standing to force a search. All I would have to do would be to say no, but they gave me the choice of signing the policy or hitting the road. So now, I am in compliance with company policy and they have no way of attempting a search.
I worked at a company with a similar policy. I would have been happy carrying my firearm with me on the drive and then leaving it in the car, but not with that policy. Their policy caused me to go one step further and required me to carry my gun on my person each day.
You're under no obligation to keep working there; Washington is an "at will" employment state. I have a feeling though, that if a company did that they would lose a great portion of their workforce and would be akin to shooting themselves in the foot.
Not in this economy, I'd call that a kind of economic despotism. And that's exactly the kind of corporate crap that expands the power & influence of unions, and that's the last thing we need. The whole "just find another job" argument is a red herring.
You're not, but in this economy, it isn't just that easy to just quit your job. There aren't many employers that don't have policies that restrict weapons on property. Hell, one company has a policy that says "The employee can not bring, carry, or possess any weapons on company property, while employed, including personal protection weapons."
The current economy has nothing to do with it. Or are you saying that some rights only exist in a depression and then disappear when the economy bounces back?
I completely understand that it sucks and yes it would be difficult to find another job. But if your asking that they should have to give up their rights on their property you'd have to be willing to sacrifice your rights on your property.
I never said nor implied that anything grants anyone extra security or privileges. My point was that, in my scenario, the decision becomes a real tough choice. Correct me if I am wrong, because I don't want to put words in your mouth. It seems that the simple solution for you is to quit and "make due" with the alternatives. ...even if that means being out of work for a very long time? ...even if you have to downsize your life? ...even if you have to take your children out of a good school and put them into a substandard public school in a bad neighborhood? ...maybe alter your diet, health, health care, etc.?