Jan. 27--More than two years after Illinois' concealed carry law was passed, activists continue to push for retailers -- particularly grocers -- to post signs telling customers who are toting hidden weapons that they are not welcome.
A small group of gun control advocates staged a demonstration at Highland Park's tree-lighting ceremony last year, urging people to do their holiday shopping only at stores where concealed firearms are banned, while last week another small protest targeted the local Sunset Foods.
Despite some successes for the advocates, many stores have resisted the campaign, and several retailers contacted by the Tribune declined even to discuss why they have chosen not to participate. Others in the business community say shopkeepers may be supportive of the concealed carry law, don't want to alienate customers who may be or they simply don't want to take a public stance on such a controversial subject.
The recent protests were part of an ongoing campaign dubbed "Shop Safer." In the Chicago area, members of the Northbrook-based Peaceful Communities and Highland Park-based Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs have visited local shop owners and managers urging those who haven't already to display no-gun signs -- featuring the black silhouette of a handgun inside a red circle-backslash symbol -- on doors and storefront windows.
Lee Goodman, a Peaceful Communities organizer, last year began calling on grocery stores specifically to post the signs. In August, Goodman, along with a few others, staged a protest outside a newly opened Mariano's in Northbrook, asserting the store was unsafe without the ban.
"For two years, we've waited and hoped stores would act responsibly, and very, very few of them have on their own, and it seems to be that many stores think of it as a way of not taking a stand they see as political, which might alienate some of their customers," Goodman said.
Whether a business decides to put up a no-gun sign may have more to do with its customer base than the owner's personal feelings about firearms, said Todd Maisch, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
"I think a lot of retailers feel it's a no-win proposition for them because they're going to alienate some customers either way," he said.
Representatives from the Sunset Foods and Mariano's grocery chains did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Maisch said his organization worked with legislators while the concealed carry law was being crafted to ensure businesses had the right to choose to ban carriers from their stores. But the only way for gun owners to know they cannot bring the weapon into a business is if there's a clear and conspicuous sign posted, he said.
Dana Gordon, director of outreach for the Joint Action Committee, said she thought it was "crazy" when she learned Sunset wouldn't post a sign.
"When I called, and they said, 'No, we won't put up a sign. We don't want to be political,' I was taken aback," she said, adding the group then starting looking at other grocers.
Gordon said her organization, which also advocates for pro-Israel initiatives, reproductive rights and separation of religion and state, has lobbied for stronger gun control measures since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
Gordon said that, as of December, more than 100 stores in Highland Park had agreed to post the signs. She said her group has received a range of responses to the request: Some store managers said corporate policies prohibit such signs, and others declined because they said they believe strongly in the right to bear arms.
Kim Cohen, owner of Highland Pop Gourmet Popcorn in Highland Park, said she put up the no-gun sign at the request of several committee members. Cohen said she wants children and their families to feel safe in her store.
"I have no problem with anyone having or wanting firearms," she said. "I'm a mom. I'm a female business owner. And we all know about Sandy Hook. So I feel like why would anyone come into my store with a gun? There's no reason for it. There's just no reason for it unless you're a police officer or an undercover detective."
An employee at another business in Highland Park, who would not give her full name, said the shop declined to post the no-gun sign because operators didn't want to advertise the business as a "gun-free zone."
The employee said she noticed other shops putting the signs up at the protesters' request and then later taking them down.
Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said allowing concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns into a business is a benefit for the store owner because those gun owners could potentially stop a crime in progress.
"The purpose of concealed carry is because the bad guys don't know who is carrying," he said. "But they know if that sign is up that nobody is carrying." Pearson, who said he's aware of the "Shop Safer" campaign, said such efforts are "just trying to promote the anti-gun agenda."
Goodman said he realizes anyone with criminal intent won't be deterred by a sign in a store window, but he said that's not whom the campaign is targeting. He said those behind "Shop Safer" want law-abiding gun owners to keep their guns out of businesses in an effort to prevent accidental shootings or an escalation of violence from occurring within stores. He cited reports of similar shootings elsewhere in the country.
Shoppers who encountered the protesters at Sunset Foods last week expressed a range of reactions, but none was willing to be identified.
Some said they weren't bothered by the grocer not having the no-gun sign posted. One shopper said she was upset that the protest targeted Sunset because of the community contributions and record of providing employment to people with disabilities.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter; Pioneer Press reporter Karen Berkowitz contributed.
