Card-Carrying Members
May 23, 2004
Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine
When the Middlefield Giant Eagle posted a "no concealed weapons" sign last month, Scott Weber threatened to take his $200-a-week grocery business to the competition.
Weber, who owns The Gunrunner, a gun store and auction company in Burton, says he stowed his gun in his car and returned to the store to speak with the manager. After he stated his case, store owner P.J. Macali did the math and agreed to remove the sign. (Macali did not respond to a request for comment.)
Giant Eagle spokesman Rob Borella says the chain has instructed its stores not to post "no gun" signs. The Middlefield store, however, "is independently owned."
Weber and other supporters of Ohio's new concealed-carry handgun law are confronting Northeast Ohio business owners who display a "no gun" sign. They also are leaving business-size cards that read: "We have noticed your sign, and are going to respect your wishes by shopping elsewhere."
"We have been receiving a lot of requests for the cards, and we keep a detailed database of businesses with no gun' signs posted on the site [www.OhioCCW.org]," says Jim Irvine, a spokesman for Ohioans for Concealed Carry.
The Plain Dealer posts "no gun" signs and is listed on the Web site. So does Malley's Chocolates. Dan Malley, president and CEO of Malley's, doesn't plan to remove the signs from his 15 stores. "I don't want to alienate the gun people, but I wish they would leave their guns in their cars if they are coming to Malley's," he says.
Tony Alesci, owner of Alesci's Imported Foods in South Euclid, also listed on the Web site, isn't so sure about keeping his sign, which was provided by the police department. "It has offended a few of my good customers and we're going to discuss whether to leave the sign up," he says.
Weber's response to folks like Malley and Alesci?
"What we're really trying to say is, 'You missed my business today. Re-think your policy - you can't afford to do that.' "
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