TTAG reader LG writes: “Since you like to post about places that want to deny the right to carry, I thought I’d send you a new one: The American Legion has this sign posted on it’s clubhouse door. (See: attached picture) It has been there several months. I and others have tried to get some kind of real information as to why it suddenly appeared and who was responsible. So far, answers have been the typical non-answer and “what if” BS that you get from anti-gun folks. Location and contact information: American Legion Chattahoochee Post 251, 2760 Georgia 120, Duluth, GA 30096, http://www.galegion251.org/“
Bwahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa that’s so dumb I almost cried. Please tell me that this is a joke
Best part is that they explicitly permit smoking. How many people die from cigarettes a year?
Apparently, not enough.
You a member? Take the sign down and raise hell at the next meeting. Complain to state/national. Change your membership to different post if not resolved to your satisfaction.
If you’re not a member it’s not you problem or business.
Some posts one former E4 who’s military service was the COs driver at the 34th Mess Kit Repair Co. In most posts they are thrilled for anyone that gets involved. Particularly if under the age of 80/recent Vet.
But hey smoking IS allowed. So it’s all good 🙁
Ha beat me to it!
“Thank you for serving your country. Now please disarm, line up, and enter the room one at a time. Disregard any noises. The exit is at the rear, there is nothing to worry about.”
I wonder how much they spent on those signs. Dare say I wouldn’t be caught in the place.
B, nothing at all… 8~( So sad.
Hasn’t bar carry been illegal in GA?
the bar angle was my guess
It is legal now as long as the bar owner or agent of the owner says its OK.
Bar carry is legal with no restrictions starting July 1st.
So, the sign is still conforming with the law that prohibits bar carry for the next two weeks?
But is it a bar? GA law doesn’t define “bar” very well. It’s defined as “an establishment that is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises and in which the serving of food is only incidental to the consumption of those beverages”. Could one argue that as a private club, which is devoted to being a private club, it is therefore not a bar?
Either way, the law doesn’t require a sign for off limits places.
The Obama Legion?
Fists, elbows, knees, and feet can be used as weapons, should we check our appendages at the door?
And your bad breath.
(*Anybody’s* bad breath, just so you know I am not slamming you in particular.)
An old timer down the street wanted me to join the Legion, I had considered it, just to get to know some other old timers besides myself. NOT NOW!
Cheesy, Not all Legion posts are like this one. They are independently managed. Check out the one closest to you to see how you like it before passing judgment on all of them.
I routinely carry at our local Legion meetings, and I’m not th only one. That’s not a national policy, but one that needs changing at the local level.
Would guess that it is there because it is still illegal to carry a firearm into any establishment serving booze or beer in Georgia. It has been just recently that one can carry a firearm into a booze serving restaurant in Virginia where I live (the person carrying can NOT be consuming alcohol though )
Robert Seddon
Mineral, Va
Robert, the recent change was to allow a CC’er to enter establishments that serve alcohol. You are correct that they may not drink. Virginia has never had a statute against OC where there is alcohol, or even against drinking while wearing a firearm openly. There is a statue against intoxication while open carrying, however.
Incorrect. GWL holders CAN consume alcohol while armed. The restriction is that he/she may not DISCHARGE the weapon except in self-defense.
I don’t know about other states, but not in Virginia:
§ 18.2-308.012. Prohibited conduct.
B. No person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of any restaurant or club as defined in § 4.1-100 for which a license to sell and serve alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption has been granted by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board under Title 4.1 may consume an alcoholic beverage while on the premises. A person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of such a restaurant or club and consumes alcoholic beverages is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. However, nothing in this subsection shall apply to a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer.
It has been legal in GA to carry into a restaurant that servers alcohol, and even drink, since 2010. It has also been legal since 2010 to carry in bars with the permission of the owner. Starting July 1st, 2014, it will be legal to carry into bars period.
Wow…they got some balls putting that sign underneath the top one.
Right?
They might as well put up a sign that says that says, “Thank you for your service to our country. Please hold still while we spit upon the you and the rights you risked life, limb, and mind to defend.”
When i was growing up in the fifties, my Dad was a very strong supporter and member of the American Legion. He went to the Legion Hall every Saturday afternoon and using his secret “admit me only” identification card, he was buzzed in and joined in the fraternity of all hios other WW2 buddies. My dad was a ball turret gunner on a B24 with the 16=5th AirForce flying over Europe from his base in Italy.
I was thrilled with the idea of a special club for just veterans and could hardly wait until i grew up and went off to war so i could come home and join. My Dad and I spent many Saturday afternoons in that Legion while he talked with his buddies and we watched baseball and football games on the color TV.
Pretty cool stuff.
Years later, I finally came home from Vietnam, spent some time in Great Lakes Naval Hospital from my second gsw. When I was finally released, my Dad made sure I had a dress uniform and could hardly wait for me to pin on all my accouterments and award ribbons because he wanted to walk me into the Legion and sponsor my membership. I was probably just as excited as he was and as he used his secret admission card into the slot and we were buzzed, the grin was splitting his face.
That’s when the drunk Post Commander saw us coming in and swiveled around on his bar stool and said loudly to everyone in the room, “Hey! We don’t need any of those baby killers in here. This is for real combat veterans only.”
We were both stunned and even more so when we heard the murmurs of agreement coming from other drunks sitting in the room. We turned around and walked out and as I got back into the car, I saw my Dad tearing his membership card up and leaving it scattered in the parking lot.
Screw the Legion. They didn’t want me then and apparently they still don’t want people like me now.
Wow…. I’m absolutely shocked. That is sickening. Glad I joined the VFW instead.
I could find a 1000 different VN vets who will tell you very similar stories about the VFW and all of the veteran organizations.
There was a saying going around just a couple of years ago when all the vet organizations started having severe membership problems, “they didn’t need us then, we sure don’t need them now”.
The WWII generation was a brainwashed by Walter Fing Cronkite as was the hippie/babyboomer generation.
The Korean War Vets make up most of the Legion today. Ok guys but getting very old. The Iraq/Afgan Vets (and their generation in general) are not joining the Legion (or any other oorganization) in many communities.
Well, thanks for telling me that. I will not be renewing my membership based on that alone. One thing we can all agree on is that supporting vets IS a black and white issue.
Sorry that happened to you and your father. Thank you for your service.
I’m betting the VC would have made that “Post Commander” wet his pants and cry for mama.
Wow, that post commander was a douche…. I can tell you that you will not hear that bullshit now.
Same crap in the 60’s & 70’s with my Uncle. VFW.& American Legion. My brother went 1 time after coming backnfrom his 3rd tour in Vietnam. He was looked on as trash called a few names by the “greatest generation” my Uncle told them to shove membership the next day. All I ever saw was cigarette smoke & drunks.My Uncle just played poker & nursed a schlitz.
That was then, this is now. Nam vets are more than welcome.
No thanks. I still remember the “rousing welcome” y’all gave us last time.
Sad. But I heard similar circumstances as well. I think this reputation and lack of outreach is the main reason why these Veteran groups don’t have anyone younger than 60 it seems.
Soooooo theyre paying to be eligible to be robbed?
Hmm….. Aren’t Legion Halls (and VFW’s) considered Private Clubs? Doesn’t that exempt them from a lot of the ‘usual’ laws regarding who and what and where and how? Can’t they, as the club ‘owners’ decide if they do or don’t want weapons in their facility?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m laughing at the sign just as much as everyone else. I am just asking if, as a private club, they were already exempt from the no carry around booze laws? So why the sign now?
Yes they can. The question is not about it’s legality.
Pathetic…
Just guessing here, but I’m thinking that it is probably because they serve a lot of alcohol and potentially have a higher than average number of patrons with PTSD. Just saying.
Obviously, the “veteran” who put up that sign suffered severe brain trauma while in the rear with the gear.
Glad you put “veteran” in quotes. More probably some administrator who never served, with a degree in feminist studies. Which she got despite spending most of her time protesting the war in Iraq.
Ralph them REMFs have seen more combat than most Spec Ops groups. With all the office supplies and paperwork uprisings and they use those terrifying boom sticks tryin to overthrow the REMFs man I’m suprised any of em survive.
Why am reminded of the sign from The Heritage Club in the movie “Trading Places”?
It reads: “With Liberty And Justice For All”, and underneath that “members only”.
Have these post members learned nothing???
I grew up a few miles down the road from that place. They used to have a turkey-shoot every Saturday morning at 11:00 AM.
The American Legion in Flagstaff, AZ is also posted but the signs are not this nice. I assume it is also for the bar/alcohol. Bar carry is legal in AZ for permit holders.
wtf? I can understand they’re worried bout troops with PTSD gettin drunk and rowdy but seriously? Banning guns out right, have they lost their damn minds?
Not really surprised since you’re apparently old enough to kill and die for your country several years before you’re allowed to even buy a handgun back home (in many states).
I joined the Legion in Green Valley, AZ. Several years later, they banned smoking in the bar, so I let my membership lapse, but I went back occasionally with friends who were still embers. Then they put up the accursed “No Guns” sign. WTF?! They got guns hanging up on display, fachrisake. Screw them!
South Carolina just got restaurant carry no alcohol consumption though. My guess is whoever is the dram shop insurance agent required it. State Farm still has it in homeowners policy. I got my insurance through NRA. Covers more & costs less. When we sold our old place the movers lost a box with 4 pistols. Had the box just no pistols. Took 14 days & $100 deductible. + got the
adjusted value. But better than nothing. Since then incteased the coverage .
Take a chisel to the club, chop the sign off the door, carry it into the room, split it into pieces. If there is ia fireplace, use it appropriately, then piss on the ashes.
I guess I don’t have a problem with this. In my mind, the decision to drink (and in my part of the world, legion = bar with ugly waitresses) means that I am letting my guard down. If I stop for a beer after work, the ccw gets locked in the glove compartment. I know, there is such a thing as going to a bar and not drinking, but old surly drunks and guns are just not a good mix. Not saying it should be the law, but I agree with this property owners choice.
Kind of like some hunting shacks have a policy–when the evening drinking starts the guns get put away.
Epic Fail!
When their contributions dry up and people let them know why, it has a tendency to change minds.
Money talks, bullshit walks.
Legion and VFW halls are often just places for alcoholics to hang out. No good reason to join them if they start slapping signs like this on the door.
The Inflatable Pontoons are related by a frame, which also
contains the paddles and the sitting area for the user.
This sort of boat will get insured by the people today who use
it since of its relevance. The picture below shows such a lifeboat during actual
release and dive action, and you can see that once the locking mechanism
is released, the boat would simply dive towards water but the people need to be seated securely inside
the boat to prevent injury.
I remember in 1970 the FOP had the same sign. Or you could check it at the door.
A friend sent this to me today because I am a member of this post. Figured I’d provide a little bit of information to reduce speculation.
Yes, we could opt to allow weapons inside the post. No, we do not. The sign was placed as a reminder/clarification a while back. The policy has been in place for longer than the sign has been up.
Yes, I’m a veteran and I’m under 40. I also completely support open and/or concealed carry.
This is a very controversial topic within our organization. Frankly, it makes me sad that one of our members chose to share this picture here and take it outside the family, so to speak.
The location is a hybrid bar/meeting area. There is a lot of alcohol served, and most days it is a basic neighborhood-style bar where veterans and their families hang out. Some evenings, it is a meeting place for dinner or other events. The entrance is secured through key-card access, and there are CCTV’s outside the building so that people attempting to gain entrance without a card can be seen.
I can say that there are members who want to be allowed to bring weapons into the bar. There are others who are vehemently against this idea. I’d be fine with it. However, keep this in mind… We are a private organization whose mission is to provide a community and a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. I can tell you that there are veterans who, for whatever reason, do not feel comfortable with loaded weapons around them. They especially do not feel comfortable with armed drunk people. Our objective is to make the post as welcoming as possible for everyone. This requires compromise. We aren’t great at that sometimes, as anyone who is actually a member at Post 251 can attest. But, we do try. If someone has a weapon and does not want to leave it in their vehicle, they have the option to have it placed somewhere secure while they spend time with us.
Policies like these will never make everyone happy, and I get that. In this case, I put my personal belief system aside out of respect for the veterans I share membership with who would not join us if the policy were otherwise. I know that I’ll never convince anyone to change their opinions, but I figured I’d at least share the motivation behind the policy with all of you.
So you admit to serving people until they are drunk. Wish your insurance agent could see that. Yes I was Army & been asked to join. But the way the legion as a whole treated viet vets Never would join. Now that your membership down you go after new blood. Your member was right in going outside the family. Show potential members your colors are not Red, White & Blue but green.
You do realize that by serving to the nearly and fully intoxicated you are complicit in any traffic accident that the patron is involved in after leaving your bar. Yet another reason for me to steer clear.
Didn’t members of an A.L. or V.F.W. post have to defend themselves with handguns in Central Florida a couple of years ago?
How sad are you people? All good men and women using unkind words against each other. I get the sense this isn’t about the sign at all! What a same after the true wars and hardships you’ve experienced …
As a direct result of my previous report, In a fit of fascism against the First Amendment as well as the Second, I have been temporarily suspended from some privileges at the post. Here is my letter to the Legion Post and State and National commanders as well as all others concerned.
Anyone wishing to address georgia Post 251, please be professional and courteous. Do not send any kind of threat.
—
Sent to:
American Legion National Headquarters
American Legion National Commander, Daniel M. Dellinger
Son National Commander, Mike Moss
Department of Georgia Commander, Randy Goodman
Southeast Regional Liaison
American Legion Riders
Patriots
Dear Sirs:
There is a matter at hand that is of personal interest and passion transpiring at the American Legion post of which I am a member. I maintain dual membership in the Sons of the American Legion and the American Legion Riders. I have participated frequently and enthusiastically in the programs and events at the post and consider myself an active member. With all due respect, I present the following:
I have been a member since January of 2013. In January of 2014, a sign declaring a restriction of my right to keep and bear arms made a mysterious appearance on the door to the clubhouse. I requested from the leadership of Post 251 an explanation of the source, reason and authority of the sign prohibiting the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms on premises. While I recognize the right of the membership to make such a decision, the source, reason and authority was, in fact, not provided to me in any way. I checked the bylaws of Post 251 and I can find no published rule or policy having been duly voted on by the membership. I can find no published rule or policy in the bylaws of the American Legion for a prohibition of the right to keep and bear arms by its membership. I had hoped some adult would have spoken to me, in an adult way, regarding this issue, but alas this was not to be.
Being a motorcycle rider, and because I exercise my rights freely and without reservation and in compliance with the laws of the State of Georgia, this prohibition presents and unreasonable burden: 1. I cannot secure my weapon on my motorcycle. To leave it unsecured on my motorcycle would be an irresponsible act. 2. No facilities are provided on premises to secure a weapon in a safe manner.
Being a student of History, I have learned that the primary goal of fascists and evil men is to control the populous. To accomplish this, they make it paramount to ensure that populous is unarmed. Thus, I question the motives of any person or entity that furthers the ends of fascists and evil men. Because concerns were not adequately addressed, I brought the issue to the attention of the Patriot community at large. Now, because I have exercised my rights to Free Speech, action has been taken against me to suspend access to the clubhouse for a period of time.
I consider the actions of the Executive Committee, after having made no attempt to discuss with me the concerns at hand regarding the irrational prohibition of civil rights guaranteed under the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as well as Section 1, Paragraph 8 of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, in banning be for any period of time from any privilege of membership an act of malicious retaliation for the exercise of my right of Free Speech guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United states and Section 1, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution of the State of Georgia.
Let me state this as clearly as possible: I WILL NOT BE CURTAILED. I am a free man and I will fight anyone and everyone to remain so. If you are an agent of slavery, be notified that I will not stand idly by and watch freedom perish.
These same sentiments were held and lived by men greater than any of us. Their sacrifice to the ends of Liberty should never, as they are now, be dismissed. Additionally, all veterans have taken an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution”. This means they also must protect and defend the rights guaranteed therein. I am dismayed that you have forgotten or chosen to abandon your oaths.
Sincerely,
Son of a Legionnaire,
Legion Rider,
Patriot
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