Per the news account:
Sgt. Lori Lavorato said police received a report of a woman possibly being abducted after an argument at a Target store along Merle Hay Road.Loki1776 shows us how this was all made possible:
Sgt. Lori Lavorato said police received a report of a woman possibly being abducted after an argument at a Target store along Merle Hay Road.Loki1776 shows us how this was all made possible:
I've got to leave for work and can't check mapquest, but when I lived in Des Moines IIRC Target wasn't part of Merle Hay Mall, it was north of the mall on the other side of Merle Hay Road. Merle Hay Road runs north-south.
ReplyDeleteThis does not detract from my opposition to mall disarmament policies.
The mall link I provided says the mall is on Merle Hay Road and lists Target as one of their stores...
ReplyDeleteAlso, from their MALL INFO page:
With over 100 merchants and a shopper-friendly facility of more than 1.2 million square feet, Merle Hay Mall offers our guests the opportunity to not only shop but to eat, explore, play and so much more.
Of course we’re home to Target, Kohls, Old Navy, Ulta, Staples, Sears and Younkers, but since its inception in 1959, Merle Hay Mall has become a key component in the community as well, hosting over 100 community events every year. Add to that our massive new Kid’s Play Area and you get a convenient, relaxing and comfortable shopping experience.
Directions:
Merle Hay Mall is located at the corner of Merle Hay Road and Douglas Avenue in Des Moines. The mall is 1.2 miles South of I-80/35 on Merle Hay Road, or 8 miles East of I-80/35 on Douglas Avenue.
I would say that sign is completely impossible for a live person to comply with.
ReplyDeleteWell, it has been over 15 years since I lived in Des Moines. I probably wouldn't recognize the inside of Merle Hay Mall now, the only stores on that list that were there the last time I visited were Sears and Younkers.
ReplyDeleteI guess Des Moines area residents will need to print up a bunch of those liability cards you had a link to before.
The malls here in NH have the same signs posted. I don't remove my concealed firearm when I go in. Nobody notices. Nothing happens. Liberals would say I was lucky!
ReplyDeletecan you say lawsuit?
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons for these pretty standard mall policies in the first place is that they are driven by insurance companies...
They are afraid of accidental shootings, and/or possibly unintentional self defense shootings by the greater unwashed public, and the resulting lawsuits.
Ok, so now it's time for the pendulum to swing the other way, and hold the malls responsible for their disarmament policies.
The mall disarmed her... leaving her vulnerable to harm.
I think a good lawyer should be able to sue and could collect.
A few big successful lawsuits for things like bodily harm and denial of civil rights would make the insurance co.s sit up and take notice and the policy would change.
If I was the insurance co. the first thing I would try is to throw a moderate wad of cash at the person to "go away" in a nice quiet out of court settlement, and leave the policy in place.
I failed to noty that soem of that aversion to gun carry might have been prompted from several mall shootings....
ReplyDeleteAs always there is the twin horns of the dichotomy....
do you just blythely go on into the mall which is a designated "no carry zone" with your concealed weapon, and "Hope" that nothing untoward happens, and that you don't get caught with it. If you do get caught, it's a misdemeanor in my state with sanctions up to losing your comcealed carry license.
Or do you disarm in your car, hoping nobody notices, leaving your unattended firearm vulnerable to theft and yourself vulnerable to assult?
Fortunately, the malls in our area do not display the no carry zone stickers on their doors... only somewhere inside is posted the placard with teh no carry provision in rather small print. So, it IS possible to plead ignorance, if caught in the mall with a weapon.....
It's also subject to some question what the malls response would be... a well dressed older customer, particularly a woman, the might just say naughty, naughty and not do very much.
A rough dressed young male of a certain ethnic group with his pants hanging half off, on the other hand would probably prosecuted to the max.
It's called selective enforcement.
Just like beer in the park: An older family group, quietly having a family picnic, with their beer cans in their cozies? no problem.
A young bunch of kids, loud and obnoxious, sitting on the tables, unabashedly having a beer party, trouble looking for a place to happen? Busted.
The difference?
ReplyDeleteOlder people aren't going to cause a problem, and older people also know how to vote and pay taxes.
It doesn't pay to piss 'em off!