Open Carry Law Survey Results: You May Be Surprised

Not surprising for such a polarizing topic, the results of our open carry survey are split pretty evenly. 51.9% of landlords and property managers told us they’d allow open carry in their buildings when the open carry law goes into effect on Jan. 1. 40.7% will be banning it, and 7.4% are undecided. (Take heart, sign-makers; those 44% will have to get the proper signage for each entrance to their buildings.)

Landlords' decisions on open carry could impact leasing going forward: 53% of tenants we surveyed said they would base their office selection on how landlords handle open carry. 41% said it’s not important enough to be a deciding factor and 6% were undecided. Only 37.5% of tenants polled said they’d like their landlords to ban guns in their offices while 62.5% were cool with it if the landlord allows it.

Here’s what you had to say:

• The right to carry shall not be infringed as supported by our 2nd amendment.

• I am OK with it, whether or not the landlord is. 

• I am not convinced that the average person who will open carry has the ability to make good decisions when confronted. There is a big difference between concealed and open carry. 

• Other states manage through this matter without a lot of fanfare. It does not make a lot of sense to make an attempt to engineer around a state law. The legal challenges will be a distraction to day-to-day services and an unnecessary expense in legal fees. 

• I think property owners will be caught in the crossfire since they carry tons of liability insurance. Plus do they want the stigma of an incident in their building?

• I am not a fan of open carry, but I am OK with concealed carry.

• I have nothing against guns in general and hunting is a great hobby, but having people walking around in an office building, restaurant or other public place with hand guns clearly visible—absolutely, completely scares me.