Today I headed into Dulles Town Center mall for lunch and noticed its list of regulations. Near the end it said no firearms open or concealed, permit or not. I don't remember ever seeing this rule. Does anyone know how long it has been up? I swear not long ago there was no sign...
My wife, kids, and I were at Dulles Town Center mall on Thursday last week. We came in by Macy's, stopped at Borders Express, and Hallmark. After leaving Hallmark, we were approached by a suited gentleman.
He introduced himself as the mall's manager of security. He informed me that open carry wasn't permitted in the mall and that it's posted, but he does understand that I have the right to carry. He conceded that the "fine print" is generally missed by everyone who come in the mall. He said that the mall is private property and his office had received "numerous" calls about me. As he explained, "so close to 9/11 people are scared." We had been in the mall for all of 15 minutes at that point. I specifically asked him if concealed carry was permitted and he replied that "what they don't know won't hurt" and that "you never know if you might help us some day." A Loudoun County deputy was with him which, I assume, is standard since there is a substation there in the mall. We were not asked to leave specifically, but he asked if I could cover it. I did so after again clarifying that it was OK to do so in the mall. Having a CHP provides me that flexibility in these situations. The deputy did
not ask to see my CHP. The conversation turned to 2A, firearms, my SIG, 9/11, and other conversation. I mentioned OCDO and VCDL and that I might "blog about this."
Overall the encounter was pleasant and professional. Hands were shaken, and I asked the security manager and deputy for their cards. I apologized for the inconvenience and they each said it was no trouble. We bit farewell and stay safe.
Long story short. DTC does
not permit open carry; you may likely get stopped. They
might not permit concealed carry, but the security manager clearly stated that I could do so since "they don't know".
Yesterday we went back to the mall (it's a nice place to stroll the babies around) and I took advantage of my CHP.
Side comment: I can appreciate the desire to not patronize locations that aren't accommodating to open (and/or concealed) carry. If I'm by myself I steer clear, but with the family I don't rain on their parade. :lol: