MAHONING VALLEY 'No guns allowed' is sign of times as law takes effect

Ohioans for Concealed Carry is selling 'no guns -- no money' cards.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sure, Ohio now has a concealed-carry law, but once you get a license, your hidden holstered gun may not be welcome everywhere you want to go.
Like spring flowers, signs that prohibit firearms are popping up everywhere.
Businesses, including The Vindicator, that don't want employees, visitors or customers to enter armed are posting warning signs. Violators face a misdemeanor charge.
The concealed-carry law takes effect Thursday. That day, sheriffs' departments will begin processing applications, and licenses are expected to be ready within 45 days.
So, sometime in May, licensed Ohioans will be out and about with their guns.
For businesses that choose to prohibit firearms, the Ohio Attorney General's Web site at www.ag.state.oh.us suggests the type of sign to use. The sign features a handgun inside a circle with a diagonal line through it.
Retaliation
Elsewhere on the Internet, the Ohioans for Concealed Carry Web site, www.ofccpac.org, is selling "no guns -- no money" cards that can be left at businesses banning armed customers. The cards say "You lost my business today and in the future" and notify the establishments that they will be added to the "do not patronize" database.
The Vindicator, using the premise of an errand-shopping excursion, checked a variety of locations to see where bearers of a concealed-carry license will be allowed to enter with a gun and where they won't. We chose to name our gun-toting shopper "Max."
Let's assume Max needs to cash his paycheck, go grocery shopping and buy a book to give to a hospitalized friend. He also has to shop for his wife's birthday gift, pick up dry cleaning, fill his gas tank, meet a friend for a movie and take home a pizza.
Max, with holstered gun, will be welcome at Mickey's Army-Navy in Warren, said owner Marty Cohen.
"I hope people who get the license will follow the proper procedures. It might even be a safer place," Cohen said. "When the law first passed people were up in arms -- no pun intended. We don't sell firearms but we do carry ancillary items."
Don't come in
Eastwood Mall doesn't want Max.
"As private property owners, we're not going to allow customers" with concealed guns, said Ken Kollar, mall manager. "The signs are right inside the mall entrances."
Southern Park Mall did not respond to several messages seeking comment.
Max can enter any Farmers National Bank to cash his paycheck.
"We are not going to post signs. We'll see how it develops in the business community and our industry," said spokesman Barb Fisher. "Many states have had [the law] on the books for a long time and it doesn't seem to be a big issue."
After the bank, Max can pick up his dry cleaning at Dale Cleaners on Mahoning Avenue in Austintown.
"I won't post a sign. Hopefully it won't become an issue -- unless they're upset with me," said owner Gary Marple. "I think the majority of people will be responsible. I don't foresee problems."
Marple doesn't think posting signs will act as a deterrent, anyhow. "I think a lot of people don't pay attention to signs," he said.
Will post signs
The idea of guns inside Komara Jewelers would make the employees very nervous, owner Bob Komara said from his Canfield Road store. "Because of the nature of our business, I definitely will post signs," he said.
As with many businesses, Dairy Mart on Mahoning Avenue, which has gas pumps out front, hadn't given any thought, until now, whether to post a sign banning customers such as Max. Manager Paula Hornung said she wouldn't feel comfortable knowing concealed guns were in the store but said the issue will be discussed and a decision reached soon.
Giant Eagles in the Mahoning Valley haven't decided yet whether to stop Max from pushing a shopping cart around the stores while armed. The Pittsburgh-based chain is "monitoring the situation, working with trade groups but made no conclusive decision," said spokesman Brian Fry.
A check of the Giant Eagles in Hermitage and Shenango Township, Pa., revealed no signs barring concealed weapons. Pennsylvania has had a right-to-carry law since 1989.
Max and his gun won't be allowed into the five Sparkle Markets in Mahoning and Columbiana counties owned and operated by Village Plaza Group, said Vince Furie Jr., vice president. At the Lisbon Sparkle, store manager Rob Stallsmith said the sign went up about two weeks ago.
"We'll take the signs down if the majority of the business community doesn't have a problem with guns," Furie said. "We'll go with the flow but at first we'll have the signs up."
Max will have to walk up to the doors at Regal Cinema in Austintown to see if a sign is posted barring his gun. Repeated calls to the cinema's corporate headquarters in Tennessee seeking comment were not returned.
Leave it behind
Max will also have to lock his gun in the glove compartment before picking up his order at Brier Hill Pizza on South Meridian Road. Manager Paul Krusely said the shop intends to post a sign prohibiting firearms.
Barnes and Noble Booksellers on Boardman-Canfield Road is waiting for word from its corporate headquarters before deciding whether Max can shop with his gun, said Pat McBroom, assistant manager.
Max's gun will go into the glove compartment before he visits his sick friend at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Tina Creighton, hospital spokeswoman, said signs barring firearms will be posted at all entrances by Thursday.
If Max has car trouble when he leaves St. Elizabeth's, riding a Western Reserve Port Authority bus home with his gun isn't likely to be an option.
"We have every intention of posting signs that would prohibit firearms in the WRTA station, on employees and buses," said Jim Ferraro, executive director.
The new state law won't allow concealed firearms into police stations, sheriffs' offices, highway patrol posts, premises controlled by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, correctional institutions or other detention facilities, airport terminals and commercial airplanes. Guns are also banned at institutions that care for the mentally ill, courthouses or buildings where a courtroom is located, universities (unless locked in a motor vehicle), places of worship (unless notified otherwise), child day-care centers, premises that dispense liquor, buildings owned by the state or any political subdivision, libraries, school safety zones (schools, school premises, school activities and school buses) and federal buildings.
meade@vindy.com