do "no gun" signs have force of law in Arizona?

[Alpo]

I was just watching a video and the guy is so excited. He's in tombstone at the site of the OK corral fight. And as his camera is panning around there's some building - some kind of business. I don't know what it is but there's a sign next to the door that says no weapons allowed. With one of those guns inside a circle with a slanty line.

 

I have no intention of going to Arizona, but I just wondered if that was a legal thing to do or if it was just one of those "we're going to put up this sign because we don't like guns" things.

[Rye Miles #13621]

I can only speak for Ohio, in my state, this is what it says. I assume Arizona is the same….maybe?

 

 

📌 2.

Private Businesses and Signage (ORC 2923.126)

 

 

Under ORC 2923.126, the owner or controller of private property may post a sign prohibiting firearms on the property. If someone knowingly violates that posted prohibition, the usual consequence is criminal trespass — a misdemeanor — if the person stays after being told to leave.

 

Important: The trespass consequence requires that the sign be posted conspicuously and that the person knowingly violates it.

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

Don’t know the answer to your question but I have been in Tombstone several different times and have not only dressed cowboy but once also wore guns. There were several establishments that did not allow firearms. 

[Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001]

about all I can say , IF it is posted , DO NOT go there 

 

 CB 

 

 they sire don't need my $$$ 

[Rye Miles #13621]

9 minutes ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said:

about all I can say , IF it is posted , DO NOT go there 

 

 CB 

 

 they sire don't need my $$$ 

Give em this……

[Rip Snorter]

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/4/00229.htm  Except for Medical, I will not patronize no gun businesses.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

If the place has this sign:Then yes, it has the Force of Law.

However, even if there is any kind of sign or NO sign, a property owner can tell a carrier to leave the property, and call LEOs if he doesn't, and have the carrier cited for Trespassing. 

As others have said, I'll take my gun and my money elsewhere.

[Cotton Eye Joe]

Gun control is the whole reason Tombstone is famous lol. Earps didn't like people having guns in "their" town apparently. 

[Rip Snorter]

Two thoughts:  If you know how to carry concealed, how would they know without a metal detector?  Second, I willingly leave places where I am not welcome. 

[Dr. Zook]

.

[Rip Snorter]

And what happened to Fred White, Virgil and Morgan after? Politics or an attempt at self preservation? 

[Tell Sackett SASS 18436]

1 hour ago, Cotton Eye Joe said:

Gun control is the whole reason Tombstone is famous lol. Earps didn't like people having guns in "their" town apparently. 

Exactly!

So why is he the HERO??

I thought about this when I saw Wyatt Earp. When Wyatt was confronting the cattlemen. Maybe this was when the Bill of Rights died?

[Cotton Eye Joe]

4 minutes ago, Tell Sackett SASS 18436 said:

Exactly!

So why is he the HERO??

I thought about this when I saw Wyatt Earp. When Wyatt was confronting the cattlemen. Maybe this was when the Bill of Rights died?

Well, the folks he was disarming were allegedly theives and scumbags. So if that's true (and not just re-written history to shine a positive light on the Earps & Holliday), then it might seem a little justified.

[Dapper Dave]

Tombstone was the ONLY city in AZ to still prohibit carrying of firearms until the 1980s, since the law predated the Az Constitution. Now of course it's perfectly fine.

It is really funny to realize that many of the shops along Allen Street are actual GUN shops, and right next door are saloons boasting No Guns signs. I found percussion caps at one shop during the plandemic. 
I can understand WHY they are no gun zones, too many people, especially tourists, wanting to recreate the movies. Then add alcohol, and bad juju occurs. 

I do have to point out a bar HAS to post such a sign per AZ state law, and the actual sign must be next to the liquor license, under AZ Title 4. Ya know what? Here's the actual law for saloons.
https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=https://www.azleg.gov/ars/4/00229.htm

And the Misconduct law under Title 13, Criminal Code...good choice of number for that one, says I. 
https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=https://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/03102.htm

 

The long and short of it is, if you carry a firearm into a place with a visible No Guns Sign, you have to be LEO/CO, or not see the sign, (yes, you can say didn't see it, and they ask you to leave), or in need of emergency help, "Call 911, my donkey is having a baby!"
A LOT of people will tell you "concealed means concealed"...but they don't look at what happens if you have to USE it in this situation. If you are KNOWINGLY breaking the law, (a sign constitutes a reasonable request), then what COULD have been a perfectly righteous use of deadly physical force just got ugly fast...and you might get to know me professionally. You don't want to know me professionally. 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

From what I've heard, the only difference between the Earps and the Cow Boys was that the Earps wrote the history. The whole battle was competition to see who ran the gambling, prostitution, and collected the graft. 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Rip Snorter said:

Two thoughts:  If you know how to carry concealed, how would they know without a metal detector?  Second, I willingly leave places where I am not welcome. 

IMHO, it's not a matter of concealed or not, it's a matter of somebody telling me that I can't do what I want to do. If they're that adamant about me not carrying on their property, I'll oblige them by NOT spending any money with them.

[Tell Sackett SASS 18436]

1 hour ago, Cotton Eye Joe said:

Well, the folks he was disarming were allegedly theives and scumbags. So if that's true (and not just re-written history to shine a positive light on the Earps & Holliday), then it might seem a little justified.

Allegedly. Convicted of what, exactly?

And why could the Earps nullify the Second Amendment??

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

7 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I can only speak for Ohio, in my state, this is what it says. I assume Arizona is the same….maybe?

 

 

📌 2.

Private Businesses and Signage (ORC 2923.126)

 

 

Under ORC 2923.126, the owner or controller of private property may post a sign prohibiting firearms on the property. If someone knowingly violates that posted prohibition, the usual consequence is criminal trespass — a misdemeanor — if the person stays after being told to leave.

 

Important: The trespass consequence requires that the sign be posted conspicuously and that the person knowingly violates it.

Same in Arizona.  

 

We have one restaurant that has a sign posted "If you are carrying a gun please conceal it.  A lot of our customers are tourists and don't know about guns and it scares them to see one in real life.  They may not ever come back.  Thanks for understanding. We appreciate the return business."

[Cotton Eye Joe]

44 minutes ago, Tell Sackett SASS 18436 said:

Allegedly. Convicted of what, exactly?

And why could the Earps nullify the Second Amendment??

Man, I don't know. That's the history we've got, and I lack a time machine lol. They used to hang rustlers without trials or anything. Only 38 states back then, and Arizona wasn't one of them. 

 

I get the feeling the 2nd Amendment wasn't quite as contested back then. 

[Subdeacon Joe]

If they care about it enough to post a sign I'd respect it.  Their property,  their rules. 

 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

1 hour ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

If they care about it enough to post a sign I'd respect it.  Their property,  their rules. 

 

My gun, my money.

[Cypress Sun]

After many years of open carry being illegal in the State of Florida, it finally became legal in September 2025 when Court struck down the restriction. Funny thing is that I have yet to see anyone open carry....and I would notice such things

 

The same places that have the "No weapons of any kind allowed" stickers on their entry accesses still have their same signs. Haven't seen any signs that prohibit open carry either. Some stores have supposedly issued statements concerning their policy but have posted no signs on their doors.

 

Granted, I'm not a person that patronizes a bunch of businesses....but I'm not a hermit either.

 

In other words, nothing has changed in Florida except that open carry is legal and no one is doing it.

[Subdeacon Joe]

54 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

My gun, my money.

 

Yep. Not that I really have choice here in Newsomist California, which, by order of the Sacramento Supreme Soviet on reaction to Bruen, declared almost all of California to be "sensitive places" and prohibited carry.  But, if given the choice,  i would avoid places that displayed such signs.

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

45 minutes ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Yep. Not that I really have choice here in Newsomist California, which, by order of the Sacramento Supreme Soviet on reaction to Bruen, declared almost all of California to be "sensitive places" and prohibited carry.  But, if given the choice,  i would avoid places that displayed such signs.

One of the reasons I live in Arizona. I know that everybody can't just pick up and move where they want to, but I have no regrets.

[Subdeacon Joe]

19 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

One of the reasons I live in Arizona. I know that everybody can't just pick up and move where they want to, but I have no regrets.

 

We had long range plans to move to Kentucky in 2024. But I lost my job in 2022, went on Social Security, which drastically cut our income. It was no longer within the realm of economic possibility.   

[Eyesa Horg]

We bailed from Comunisticut to Vermont 20 years ago and now the taxes here are getting pretty scary and unbearable!. It costs a lot to support those who don't work or pay their own way. Education is ridiculous and predicting to up another 12% this year! Over thousand a month now!!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

5 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

If they care about it enough to post a sign I'd respect it.  Their property,  their rules. 

 

I too will respect it....but I'll spend my money elsewhere.

Your business,  your rules.

My money, my rules.

 

And if anyone challenges that, I'll make them cry.

[Eyesa Horg]

I have to admit I often ignore/don't see those signs. Things stay concealed. Rather be asked to leave than take the chance of theft from my vehicle, not to mention having to walk all the way back to the truck which I always park as far from other vehicles as possible. There's no easy way to put something back in your vehicle without looking obvious if some POS is watching you. GRUMP I know,wrong thread!

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

Go get in you vehicle and drive away.  Sen a letter to the owner or manager explaining what happened and why you left and let then know that your loss to them is not much....BUT how many left and never told them why...and have never come back.

[Eyesa Horg]

6 minutes ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Go get in you vehicle and drive away.  Sen a letter to the owner or manager explaining what happened and why you left and let then know that your loss to them is not much....BUT how many left and never told them why...and have never come back.

I like that, thanks. Great suggestion. 👍

[Alpo]

I got a phone call one day. Police. My ex stepdaughter was in the hospital, and could I come down. Her mother was off somewhere with her current boyfriend and they had no adult, so she suggested me.

 

They had been in the car wreck - drunk driver crossed the line. Grandpa was dead, Grandma was in ICU, and her sister was in the emergency room, but she didn't know what was going on so I told her we would go in and find out. Get up to the door and they have a sign that says only uniformed law enforcement officers (I guess detectives were supposed to disarm also) were allowed to bring firearms into the hospital. So I tell her we got to go this way and we go back to the car and I stick my pistol under the seat.

 

I get home that night and I dig out my concealed carry paperwork and take a look at the list of places you cannot carry a gun. Guess what - hospitals aren't on the list. Grandma was in the hospital for about a month and a half and I visited her frequently. Always carried after that. 3 years later my mother was in the hospital and I went to see her everyday. Always carried. Ignored that little sign on the door. Once I knew that that little sign didn't have any meaning.

[T.K.]

Dont know but heres an interesting story about Tombstone.

We were there with my Mother in law visiting doing the tourist thing. My step son was about 6 or so and my Mother inlaw bought him a set of cap guns and holsters. What do you do after you get a new brace of cap pistols ? You go to the ice cream parlor (near the worlds largest rose bush) and show off your new shootin irons! He proceeded to fire a couple of caps inside, and low and behold a older woman who was atleast eighty five promptly threw him out of the parlor!!

I told him "Not even WYATT EARP himself ever got thrown out of the Tombstone ice cream parlor"

[John Kloehr]

Yes, force of law. Which means it is a firearms violation and not simple trespassing. Arizona has some confusing laws on this, and more confusion due to either permit-less carry or licensed carrier from out of state (AZ honors all permits except one of the two Idaho permits).

 

Anyway, for any state, go to:

 

https://www.handgunlaw.us

 

And click on the state of interest. For Arizona, almost any signage is sufficient unless it is a liquor established, then there is a specific mandated sign and a specific placement requirement. 

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, Alpo said:

I got a phone call one day. Police. My ex stepdaughter was in the hospital, and could I come down. Her mother was off somewhere with her current boyfriend and they had no adult, so she suggested me.

 

They had been in the car wreck - drunk driver crossed the line. Grandpa was dead, Grandma was in ICU, and her sister was in the emergency room, but she didn't know what was going on so I told her we would go in and find out. Get up to the door and they have a sign that says only uniformed law enforcement officers (I guess detectives were supposed to disarm also) were allowed to bring firearms into the hospital. So I tell her we got to go this way and we go back to the car and I stick my pistol under the seat.

 

I get home that night and I dig out my concealed carry paperwork and take a look at the list of places you cannot carry a gun. Guess what - hospitals aren't on the list. Grandma was in the hospital for about a month and a half and I visited her frequently. Always carried after that. 3 years later my mother was in the hospital and I went to see her everyday. Always carried. Ignored that little sign on the door. Once I knew that that little sign didn't have any meaning.

 

Actually, firearms are not permitted in a facility that has "mental health" services....which most hospitals offer. Don't know if that is State or Federal law but it is true.

 

Edit - It's a Florida law connected to the Baker Act.

A distinction exists for any hospital or portion of a hospital that provides mental health services. Florida law makes it a felony to introduce a firearm into any hospital that provides mental health services under the Baker Act. Since many general hospitals have psychiatric wards or offer emergency mental health evaluations, this law could apply broadly and carries much more severe penalties than a trespassing charge.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I can carry concealed or open in the local VFW hall (where drinks are served throughout the building), if I'm not drinking.

 

Don't know about American Legion, the Elks , or the Casino where we hold the annual Marines Corps League ball.

 

I just love central Arizona.