Can anyone comment on Georgia signage? I am awaiting my CCW permit and have noticed at least one place that has such as sign. That being my bank Wachovia.
I've asked police officers about it on a couple of occasions, and the response has been, private property in Georgia is something of a sacred concept, and the owner can place whatever restrictions they want as long as they're not legally discriminatory. For example, if I run a shop, and I just don't like the way you look, I can kick you off the premises and you don't get a choice in the matter.
Of course, the only recourse is a criminal-trespass warning the first time, and only if you stick around long enough for the cops to arrive. The only places I've really noticed a "no guns" sign, though, have been Wachovia and Waffle House (and alot of them don't have the signs anymore). I bank at Wachovia, but in the rare instance that I actually have to go to one of their branches, I just use the drive-through. There is no law in Georgia that prohibits carrying in a bank, and I ran a shop that used Bank of America for awhile. Carried all the time when I was taking deposits in, and once, the guard even pointed out that I was printing.
Where I work, I quietly encourage carry for my customers, and if I notice, I'll strike up a conversation, but I've actually had one guy escorted off the property. He'd show up every Friday night, three sails to the wind, and one night, he just kept casually brushing his jacket back far enough to make his sidearm visible. I told him point-blank that he shouldn't be carrying, that I didn't trust him with a firearm in his condition, and that he was not to carry on my property. His response was, "dude, I come downtown so I have a reason to carry my piece." Buh-bye. He got belligerent, and a Dekalb Co. officer walked in. I pointed the situation out, the officer followed him to his car, and it was off to the lovely world of DUI for him. What irked me the most is the negative picture this moron paints of CCW folks.
His was an extreme case, but from what I've heard, if you "miss" the sign at the door and the cops are called, most of the time, you just get a verbal warning and a wink.