Except that one of their managers states IN WRITING and ON COMPANY LETTERHEAD that it IS a corportate policy.
After reading the letter, I think that the store manager that wrote it is either new to the corporation or he is not as informed as he should be (or wants to be).
First of all, COSTCO is a corporation headquarted in Washington state so a letter written on company letterhead with a Minnesota address and phone number is coming from a specific store or a regional office.
The letter says in part that COSTO is a private membership club with restriction on who can become a member. That simply is not true. While you do need a merbership card to purchase items at the store,
anyone can become a member of COSTCO simply by going to the store, fill out the application form and pay the membership fee. That is clearly stated at the stores and on the company website. You can even join online!.
And here in WA, state laws says you do not even have to be a member of COSTCO to get a prescription filled at the pharmacy. Show your prescription to the door checker and you go right in. You pay at the pharmacy, not through the checkout lines.
The COSTCO website
www.costco.com does not have any information there that holds up what was written in that letter with regards to carrying a concealed weapon. The author of the letter is IMHO, "speaking out of turn" and he appears to be basing the "rules" on his personal beliefs and not necessiarily any specific corporate policy.
Meanstreaker- Calling stores in Ohio may give you an idea of what Ohio stores and their managers do or understand in terms of operating their stores, the only way to
fully confirm any COSTCO policy on firearms is to contact the corporate headquarters in Seattle. Their address is:
COSTCO
PO Box 34331
Seattle, WA 98124
You may be told that there is a corporate policy of restricting firearms, but it's entirely possible that that decision is left up to the individual stores.
I have never seen any sort of "no firearms" signage in the Washington and Oregon stores whee I have shopped.