madinpa
New member
Greetings everyone! I've joined the forum due to wanting to educate myself further on oc and cc real-world situations. I've had my own situation occur this past fall at a local Costco store in Lancaster, PA. I have had a cc permit since I turned 21 (I'm now 39) & thankfully the whole span of time has been uneventful. So, this past fall I decided to oc for a day of shopping. It was a fully unremarkable shopping day with my wife until we entered Costco together. If you're unaware, Costco is a "member" store, meaning you must pay a fee to shop there. I am not a member but my wife is. When you enter the store, you are to present your club id card to an employee to certify that you belong on the premises, as my wife did. I imagine the employee noticed my 9mm holstered and notified someone "higher up in the food/management chain" regarding me as oc-ing. We were not stopped initially and proceeded to browse some electronics placed very near the entrance of the store. I'd guess not two minutes had passed when I was approached by two individuals (neither being the id checker) & the first question to me by one of the individuals was something to the effect if I was a leo - I replied no. The next statement was "I'm going to have to ask you to leave". I was a bit surprised but remained calm and asked if I had done something wrong. The reply was no, but the gentleman then explained quietly that if I wasn't a leo, then I'd have to leave due to my firearm. Everything was very cordial and very calm and I replied ok then and apologized for causing any inconvenience. So I summoned my wife from the next isle and let her know I had to leave & she decided to leave at that time with me. So as we were being escorted out I asked one of the individuals discreetly if I had missed a posted sign stating anything to the effect of "no weapons allowed" or something similar. I was told no and we left the store & that was pretty much that. I've posted this because I'm interested to learn anything from any of you here in this forum. I left Costco when asked quietly & without confrontation largely due to the "private property" theory which we all largely subscribe to. Where exactly is the line drawn though? I know (even though I asked) I was asked to leave Costco because I had a firearm strapped to my waist, but - Where is the line? Meaning, can they ask me to leave because I'm a man? The color of my skin? My eye color? The fact I had boots on? When is it discriminatory? Does it matter for any reason? Can a business within our Commonwealth ask anyone at anytime for any reason or no reason at all? Please, don't reply that it doesn't matter because it does matter. You cannot refuse service to me due to my skin color. That is illegal. Does it have any relevance that Costco is a "club" and requires a membership fee? Does it matter that I was a guest of a member, which is a courtesy extended by Costco to their members? I know this is a non-issue if I cc'd - it wouldn't be visible. Does it ever matter that a posting(ie signage) does or doesn't exist? I realize I'm more ignorant than I should be regarding laws (there are just so many). Education is an endless pursuit and I still actively seek it. Any answers, thoughts, comments are welcomed & I'd like to extend my warmest regards to those of you here as I am a new member and this is my 1st post.
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