Can you kick someone out of your commercial business for having a concealed weapon? Let's say you operate a restaurant and you notice that one of your customers has a concealed weapon like a gun and he has the right to do so in the states. Can you still kick him out of your restaurant because you deem it inappropriate to carry a gun in a restaurant? Assume it's in the United States.
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There's an analysis at repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/…. The overall answer seems to be "yes" but there may be complicated requirements for when and how you can do so, and they vary widely between states. If I figure out how to distill the paper into an answer, I'll post one.– Nate EldredgeAug 3, 2021 at 2:38
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1 Answer
Generally, "yes", but it isn't a constitutional or federal right. It is a right that flows from the right of the owner of real property to determine who is allowed on real property, and the fact that generally speaking, a concealed weapon carrier isn't a protected class that cannot be discriminated against.
Thus, while this is the default rule in the U.S. and the predominant rule in the U.S., a state has the authority to prohibit businesses that are otherwise "public accommodations" from discriminating against concealed weapon holders if a state wishes to do so. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some exceptions, either for all concealed weapon holders, or for some subclass of them (e.g. undercover police officers).
For example, a law review note, a.k.a. student written law review article, cited in the comments notes that some states require a business owner to post a sign prohibiting concealed carry in order to have the right to remove someone from the premises of their business for this reason.
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1If the business owner notices a “concealed weapon”, is it then still a concealed weapon? Aug 3, 2021 at 8:28
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