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need help, what states ban guns from financial institutions?

bmwguy11

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
461
Location
wisconsin
I contacted glacier hills credit union about their weapons ban policy, and here is the response I got. I am trying to find evidence to refute item 2, so if anyone has sources or info please help!!

Thank you for your email regarding the Credit Union’s Conceal Carry Policy. I can appreciate your concerns and how important they are to you.



Just as you have been provided rights under the legislation that went into effect on November 1st, so have businesses. We took a very serious look at this matter and the Board of Directors and I made the decision to post no weapons for the following reasons:

1. Our bond insurer very strongly recommended that credit unions post no weapons since they do not believe weapons ever belong in the work place, we agreed

2. Most states, when passing similar legislation, banned weapons in financial institutions

3. A survey of our staff returned a 95% reply that they would feel safer not having weapons in the building

4. All of the robbery training we have ever conducted, emphasizes not engaging the robber and complying with their requests to get them out of the building as quickly as possible so no one gets hurt. Our concern is what happens if someone who is not trained on this important robbery technique is carrying a gun and decides to pull the weapon to protect themselves. In doing so, the robber is then engaged and situation becomes potentially very dangerous and no one in the lobby is safe.



I understand you need to do what you feel is right for you and your family. I am sorry to see that you are returning to a bank when so many people nationally are moving to credit unions who put their members needs first unlike banks that are concerned with their shareholders’ profits.



Again, thank you for expressing your concerns.



DDD



Dennis D. Degenhardt

President/CEO

Glacier Hills Credit Union

262-438-1119

ddegenhardt@ghcu4u.com
 

Vandil

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
240
Location
Sun Prairie
Montana, North Carolina,


The Wisconsin Credit Union League did not issue a recommendation to post, like the WBA left the final choice up to the institution. If you want to stay with a CU shop around you'll find one that doesn't post. On the flip side a bank actually pays taxes and contributes to the state tax role unlike a CU.

"Credit unions and other businesses must decide before the law goes into effect Nov. 1 whether to impose restrictions on weapons, not only for those who frequent credit unions, but also for their employees."
 

bmwguy11

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
461
Location
wisconsin
So this was my response to him.

Thanks for getting back to me Dennis. It's unfortunate for us that the policy decided was to post, but I would like to address a few points below. Thanks for hearing me out one last time.

1. Believing guns do not belong in the work place is one thing, but actually enforcing it and stopping them from coming in is another. Unfortunately, criminals do not care if that's how you feel. As I mentioned, GHCU doesn't have metal detectors or armed security guards, so the policy is nothing more than a "feel good" policy that ultimately has no effect in keeping criminals out or stopping crime from happening. You can also have a policy that doesn't allow weapons to be carried by employees while still allowing your law-abiding customers to carry.

2. I have been trying to find information on this, and I have yet to find any states that do that. I saw a couple states initially banned it in banks, but they have since lifted the ban after realizing how uneventful allowing CCW is, and how much better off it is with allowing it. States that allow it are WI, MA, FL, TX, KS, IN, OH, MN, UT, AZ, CA, NC, and the list goes on.

3. Feeling safer and actually being safer are 2 different things. It may be a policy that makes people "feel safe", but it doesn't actually make anyone safer.

4. CCW holders are not cops. We are not bodyguards for the public. We avoid confrontation, and a firearm is our last resort. We are not there to be a hero and save the day from a bank robber who wants only money. In such a scenario we will be a good witness and nothing more. However, not all criminals who might come into a bank are there to take money and not hurt anyone. As I mentioned before, sometimes criminals harm people just because they are there or because they can. Any amount of training your staff have had will not stop this or protect your customers. What if an estranged husband of one of your employees decides he's going to kill himself but decides to first go to GHCU and kill his wife and take as many other people with them as they can? This stuff actually happens, with the most recent incident being a hair salon in california. One of the most famous was the shooting in a texas restaurant where the man stalked and killed 26 people inside before killing himself. What if the bank robbers decide they need a hostage, so they take my child? No amount of training your staff have done can stop that or prevent the above scenarios. Their training will not save my wife or my child.

Realize that all of the above are the reasons the city of west bend decided NOT to post weapons bans in any city buildings or village hall. They understood the facts. They understood that statistically, a CCW holder is 57,000 times more likely to save their own life or the life of another, than to accidentally harm an innocent person. (This statistic is based upon CDC and BATFE data from 2001-2010) In fact, as an innocent bystander, you are 12 times more likely to be killed by police than by a CCW citizen.

We realize that in our lifetimes the chances of this happening are low, and thankfully we will likely never need to protect ourselves in that way. But the difference is, we choose to have that option should the unthinkable ever happen. Because then at least we have a chance. So often you hear "it's such a nice town I can't believe it happened" or "it's so shocking we never thought that would happen here". So, we have chosen to at least have the chance to save ourselves and not be defenseless victims should that horrible situation arise.

Thanks again for your time, and while I realize what I've said here probably won't change anything, I at least had to try as we really do like GHCU.
 

bmwguy11

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
461
Location
wisconsin
And here is his reply.

We aren’t going to get into statistical battle. There are all kinds of statistics regarding people being more likely to be shot accidentally in their own home, many other communities have banned weapons in their buildings, etc., etc. We believe Posting makes the most sense for our Credit Union. I am sorry we will lose you as a member because you have stated you enjoyed the credit union and we have appreciated your membership.

DDD

Dennis D. Degenhardt
President/CEO
Glacier Hills Credit Union
262-438-1119
ddegenhardt@ghcu4u.com
 
Last edited:
H

Herr Heckler Koch

Guest
More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws

http://www.amazon.com/More-Guns-Less-Crime-Understanding

More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, Third Edition (Studies in Law and Economics) by John R. Lott, Jr., PhD (Economics)

On its initial publication in 1998, John R. Lott’s More Guns, Less Crime drew both lavish praise and heated criticism. More than a decade later, it continues to play a key role in ongoing arguments over gun-control laws: despite all the attacks by gun-control advocates, no one has ever been able to refute Lott’s simple, startling conclusion that more guns mean less crime. Relying on the most rigorously comprehensive data analysis ever conducted on crime statistics and right-to-carry laws, the book directly challenges common perceptions about the relationship of guns, crime, and violence. For this third edition, Lott draws on an additional ten years of data—including provocative analysis of the effects of gun bans in Chicago and Washington, D.C—that brings the book fully up to date and further bolsters its central contention.
 

bmwguy11

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
461
Location
wisconsin
Based on his last email to me I'd guess he is liberal, as he quoted a "statistic" from the brady group, which is in fact completely wrong. (more likely for a handgun to injure an innocent person in the home)
 

msteinhilber

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
125
Location
Verona, WI
I just opened several accounts at Associated Bank in Fitchburg after learning my credit unions corporate policy to post no weapons signs. I went into the bank and was very straightforward in telling the banker I was working with that the reason I was opening these accounts was because of Associated choice to not post so they would know what exactly was attracting new business their way. He didn't at all seem concerned and we had a brief discussion about various guns before I went about my day with three accounts to begin transferring things over to.
 

Vandil

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
240
Location
Sun Prairie
Based on his last email to me I'd guess he is liberal, as he quoted a "statistic" from the brady group, which is in fact completely wrong. (more likely for a handgun to injure an innocent person in the home)

If it works anything like other non-profit elected boards the best you can hope for is to bring the topic up with each member and force a discussion on the topic at the board level. The CU likely insures liability/fire/bond all at the same place too and if there was some sort of rate hit by not posting you'd have to off set that loss with account pulls.
 

hermannr

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
2,327
Location
Okanogan Highland
Banks are private property. I suspect there are very few if any state laws that ban guns in financial institutions. I know there are some nanny states that may, but I don't know who they may be. Look at handgunlaw.us for more info.

I know I carry in WA all the time (no permit required for OC), You can add OR (no permit required for OC) to your list that has no law forbidding, there is even a bank in Oregon that specifically advertizes that your legal weapon is welcome.

Even in NY, if you have a permit.
 
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