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I know that the casinos in Shreveport/Bossier are popular attractions for many in D/FW and points eastward. One of the new attractions is the Louisiana Boardwalk, a very nice shopping/dining/entertainment district on the Bossier side of the river. The Bass Pro Shop was the first store there, and I suspect the rest of the Boardwalk exists to placate those family members not inclined to hunting and fishing.

So, without further ado, here's what I posted over at policemag.com:

Several state-level pro-concealed carry organizations publish lists of business that ban concealed carry and obviously don't want money from licensees/permitees. A couple of days ago, I ran into a business that doesn't want business from LEOs or concealed carry licensees.

My wife is from Shreveport, LA. Since it's 80 miles away, we visit there frequently. One of the new attractions is the Louisiana Boardwalk, a combination shopping center and entertainment district on the Bossier side of the river.

This past Tuesday, we visited the Boardwalk for the first time ever. It's a very pretty little area, but off-duty LEOs aren't welcome there:

http://www.louisianaboardwalk.com/code_of_conduct.htm

Code of Conduct:

12. No firearms or other weapons are allowed, regardless of whether bearer holds a concealed weapons permit; law enforcement officers while on duty are excluded.

In other words, if you're not in uniform, you're not to be trusted with firearms. Neither are those citizens who've passed background checks and state testing.

But don't worry, their ban on "gang wear" will prevent criminals from entering the mall.

Kevin

Wow... a "Code of Conduct" for a mall? I've never seen such. Is that sign actually posted at the mall? My wife would be pretty mad at me when i read that and said, "come on, lets leave Now!".

I see it on their web site, but i just can't believe a shopping mall would actually post something like that. I'm a displaced cajun, but i'm wondering what Louisiana is doing... banning guns in malls and stealing them from lawful owners in New Orleans. It's a sad time in which we live.

I note that the "Contact Us" page does not include email addys, so I'll just have to send them a snail mail with my "NO GUNS = NO MONEY" stuff on it, pointing out that feeble excuses such as "safety of our shoppers" are oxymoronic in an environment they are making safe for criminals.

I'll also point out that they are off my list of places to visit the next time we are there, and that I will do my best to dissuade others.

John - Grapevine Mills Mall near D/FW posts the mall, improperly actually, and claims it's for the safety of their shoppers.

John wrote:Wow... a "Code of Conduct" for a mall? I've never seen such. Is that sign actually posted at the mall? My wife would be pretty mad at me when i read that and said, "come on, lets leave Now!".

To clarify, the Boardwalk isn't a "mall" as one typically thinks of such, but is a piece of property with very nice meandering cobblestone "streets", and a trolley line. The businesses are grouped into blocks, and each business is entered from an open-air door. For those of you who've spent any time in Europe, it's very reminiscent of a pedestrian shopping district, what the Germans call a "Fußgänger".

I see it on their web site, but i just can't believe a shopping mall would actually post something like that. I'm a displaced cajun, but i'm wondering what Louisiana is doing... banning guns in malls and stealing them from lawful owners in New Orleans. It's a sad time in which we live.

'Tis indeed a sad time.

The curious part is that Bass Pro is the flagship store, the first one there, and the website brags about it, but it stands to the side and is not connected to any other store. They don't ban guns at Bass Pro (although they do ask that guns being carried in for repairs be checked and wire-tied at the door, from what I understand).

We had no idea what to expect there; I thought it was more of an entertainment district, and I didn't understand that it contained so much shopping (or will eventually; it's new, and many stores are yet to be opened).

I'd noticed signs containing the "code of conduct" posted on side walls (i.e., not in your normal field of vision) at entrances from the parking areas. I didn't stop to read one until we were leaving. It's long, and took a couple of minutes to read, and is posted in less than 1/2 inch type. And the firearms portion is almost at the end. Good thing we were already leaving, and hadn't spent any money there.

From reading the Shreveport news over the last few months, I was aware of the crackdown on "gang dress" and drinking in public. Because the entire mall is private property, customers of Hooter's, Joe's Crab Shack, Saltgrass Steak House, Saddle Ridge Saloon, etc., were able to carry their drinks out as they strolled the mall. There were a few problems, so Bossier police started cracking down on "drinking in public", and all the alcohol-serving establishments posted notices warning patrons that they couldn't carry alcohol outside.

I mentioned before that the "mall" is open-air, and each business has its own outside entrance, but facing inward onto "mall" property. So, here's the curious dichotomy: is the open-air portion private, or is it public? If it's public, that would explain the ban on "public" drinking, and the bicycle patrol by Bossier PD. If it's private, that explains the right to ban firearms. But if it's both... well, that can only be explained by Louisiana politics.

I intend to explore this a little further, although I don't have high hopes of a satisfactory resolution. But I will tell them that I'll be warning thousands of Texas-based colleagues, every one of them authorized to carry a firearm off-duty, that they're not welcome at the Louisiana Boardwalk. I'll also be letting Bass Pro and other businesses know why I can't do business there.

Kevin

I've been to that boardwalk several times. Seen the Code of Conduct (looking specifically for any firearms restrictions) and saw NONE

considering the age of this thread, could it be that the Boardwalk folks may have discovered the error of their ways in the last 18 months and changed their policy?



or not.... I just went to the link to the Louisiana Boardwalk and under the "information" headingm found their less than intellegent "code of conduct" still active on the website

cut and pasted from http://www.louisianaboardwalk.com/

1. Appropriate attire at all times. Shirt and shoes are required - No exposed underwear, hats worn backwards, dew rags, baggy pants below waist, brimless hats, bandanas, or gang colors.

2. Gang related dress and activities are prohibited.

3. No disorderly, disruptive conduct or behavior that endangers others
- skateboarding, roller blades, bicycles, radios, cat calls, profanity, etc.

4. Any federal, state, or local criminally recognized act is prohibited.

5. No picketing, distributing handbills, soliciting, or petitioning without
management approval.

6. No pets allowed.

7. Use trash receptacles.

8. No loitering, blocking storefronts/escalators, or walking groups
that inconvenience others.

9. School truancy policy enforced.

10. No alcoholic beverages may be consumed beyond the restaurant's
designated servicing area.

11. Smoking prohibited in the parking structure. (Ord. #21 of 2005 City of Bossier City)

12. No firearms or other weapons are allowed, regardless of whether bearer
holds a concealed weapons permit; law enforcement officers while on
duty are excluded.

13. This list is not all inclusive and may be modified at any time by the management.

No brimless hats? Would that include a yarmulke? If so, things could get entertaining when they try to enforce it.

KD5NRH wrote:No brimless hats? Would that include a yarmulke? If so, things could get entertaining when they try to enforce it.

LOL! I wondered the exact same thing!

Talk about draconian policies...In order to enforce their "parental escort policy" they also require patrons to carry photo id with proof of age, and they can ask you to leave if you don't have or refuse to produce it. http://www.louisianaboardwalk.com/paren ... policy.htm

Seriously...To shop in a mall? I sure won't be a visitor.

-Xander

"Brimless hats" would include berets, wouldn't it? I'd like to see them kick a soldier out...

I thought that "fashion police" was just a saying.

Greetings--

So , under LA CHL laws, it that "Code of Conduct" statement considered sufficient notice to prevent a licenced holder from legally carrying on their property ?

We went there a good while back- thought the "Code" was a bit overboard myself......

Just about anything that says something about no firearms is enough in LA to keep you out .

We live in Bossier City, and beyond Bass Pro (where the wife and I do carry concealed) we don't patronize the Boardwalk. The "Code of Conduct" is clearly posted, and still includes the language specifically banning licensed concealed carry.

Any "no guns" sign of any type is legal notice in Louisiana that you can't carrry there.

Also, despite the wording on the DPS website about "prohibited" places, forget about the "Class A license" stuff when it comes to liquor licenses. An older statute still on the books forbids carry in any establishment that sells alcohol for on-premise consumption, including restaurants.

packina40 wrote:We live in Bossier City, and beyond Bass Pro (where the wife and I do carry concealed) we don't patronize the Boardwalk. The "Code of Conduct" is clearly posted, and still includes the language specifically banning licensed concealed carry.

I admit to having been there a couple of times, but I really don't like the place. The overall tone of their "code of conduct" could be summed up as: "We don't want those people here."

And yes, I know that plenty of rich white suburban mall rats dress in the same way, but it's still obvious that their dress code is aimed squarely at about half the black population in S/BC. That just rubs me wrong.

KBCraig wrote:The overall tone of their "code of conduct" could be summed up as: "We don't want those people here."

Now that you point it out, their dress code is very specific about certain things, but it doesn't ban skinheads, goths, leather fetishists, or even cross-dressers.

- Jim