Tennessee Firearms Assoc. Inc.

Here is my letter to CBL and Hamilton Place Mall...

December 27, 2008

To: CBL Associates and Hamilton Place Mall merchants

Dear sirs (madams):

A few days before Christmas, I was about to enter Hamilton Place mall at the west entrance next to Sears. I have a Tennessee permit to carry a handgun, but I noticed the sign prohibiting me bringing my gun inside. Because of a crowded parking lot, I had parked a considerable distance from the entrance, but I obeyed your sign and returned to my vehicle to store my gun in the trunk. I did this reluctantly even though I knew no vehicles are ever broken into at Hamilton Place, and my Glock pistol would be safe in my vehicle. Actually, the safest place for my gun is on my side. Your ridiculous rule increased the chance of my gun to be stolen and placed in the hands of a criminal and this chance is multiplied during tough economic times. By the way, during the nearly two hours I spent inside Hamilton Place, I never saw one policeman or armed security guard.

Furthermore, do you think a criminal would have obeyed your sign? Of course not! You are creating an environment that criminals and psychopaths love. I suggest you consider posting the attached sign instead of the one you have. Do you remember the Virginia Tech massacre? Do you remember that eight people died at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska last year? Do you care? Will you be responsible if a psycho enters Hamilton Place and does the same thing? Do you think it will never happen at Hamilton Place? I bet the management at Westroads Mall thought the same thing. Until you realize the indisputable fact that law abiding citizens with guns will make Hamilton Place a safer place to shop, I will not shop where I cannot carry my gun.

This letter is to advise you I will no longer be able to shop at Hamilton Place Mall in the future. That way I can insure my own safety outside of your “open season hunting grounds” for criminals and psychopaths. I will also warn my family and friends of the danger they will be in if they shop at Hamilton Place Mall.
Sincerely,

Ben Burke
(423) 893-8008

Attachment

Well, I took 50 copies, with the Weapons Not Allowed parody notice, to CBL's office complex first. This office building was not posted, so I go in with my Gock on my side, and I went to the guard's desk and explained what I wanted to do. This young lady had to call someone and the man advised me that CBL and the mall was private property and my gun was not even allowed in their office building. I explained that their office building was not posted and if it had been I would have left my gun in my truck. I was told I could not distribute my letters to the merchants and if I disobeyed I would be banned from the mall. I was told I could not even mail them to the merchants! John, I agree with their first command, but correct me if I'm wrong, I believe they can't do anything if I mail them. It's really unbelievable how ignorant some people can be.

Tennessee has a doctrine called "criminal trespass". A property owner or manager can use criminal trespass doctrine to ban someone from their property for practically any reason (if the property is public like a mall they cannot discriminate on race, sex, etc.) including violating one of their rules or even doing something they don't like.

Now, they can't stop you from mailing or even handing them out (until you get caught). What they can do is ban you from the property if you do mail or hand out the information. That is the right of a private property owner. What they risk however is that their actions would negatively impact their tenants (public pressure) and that their tenants would then complain and revolt.