Mississippi and Restaurants

[saintsfanbrian]

I went out to dinner with the MIL last night in North Mississippi. I was unsure of the law and in a T-Shirt that printed VERY badly (wasn't planning on making any stops) so being as I am from TN and used to the draconian law here I disarmed. I checked the laws this morning and it appears that

"No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to

carry a concealed pistol or revolver into any place of nuisance as defined in

Section 95-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972; any police, sheriff or highway patrol

station; any detention facility, prison or jail; any courthouse; any courtroom,

except that nothing in this section shall preclude a judge from carrying a

concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his

courtroom; any polling place; any meeting place of the governing body of any

governmental entity; any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof; any

public park unless for the purpose of participating in any authorized firearms-

related activity; any school, college or professional athletic event not

related to firearms; any portion of an establishment, licensed to dispense

alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, that is primarily devoted

to dispensing alcoholic beverages; any portion of an establishment in which

beer or light wine is consumed on the premises, that is primarily devoted to

such purpose;"

So, did I have to disarm since this was a restaurant or could I have gone in with out problem?

[Guest GLOCKGUY]

the part that says "primarily devoted to such purpose" confesses me

[Guest db99wj]

Sounds as if you go to a restaurant that serves alcohol you are ok. If you go to a bar that serves food, you would not be ok.

[Guest Ranger Rick]

Sounds as if you go to a restaurant that serves alcohol you are ok. If you go to a bar that serves food, you would not be ok.

+1

sounds that way to me too.

Also, you could sit in the food side of the establishment (that has a bar else where) and be OK too.

Edited July 8, 2008 by Ranger Rick
more thought

[molonlabetn]

As long as you weren't sitting in the bar, you'd have been fine.

[saintsfanbrian]

Noted for next visit down there. MIL is friends with the C.O.P. down there so it probably wouldn't have been an issue either way but I was better safe than sorry as far as the law was concerned at least.

[Guest abailey362]

sounds like a 51% rule to me.

my problem with those laws is that it's sometimes hard to tell unless they are posted on how much business comes from what sales.

[cadillacdude1975]

http://www.opencarry.org

they are a little slow on updating, GA still shows as off limits for restaurants that serve, but that changed 7-1-08

[bwswanson]

sounds like a 51% rule to me.

That is the way that I read it too.

[Fallguy]

http://www.opencarry.org

they are a little slow on updating, GA still shows as off limits for restaurants that serve, but that changed 7-1-08

Here is a new map

Edited July 10, 2008 by Fallguy
GA updated

[Guest GLOCKGUY]

Yep here is a map of the whole us, as stated above GA has not been updated.

looks updated to me

[Fallguy]

looks updated to me

Yep, got the e-mail that they had updated it today....

Post edited

[Guest 270win]

Southaven and Olive Branch are nice to eat at if you live in the Memphis area because you can legally carry inside restaurants there that serve alcohol. I honestly don't think there is a law in MS about drinking and carrying as long as you aren't intoxicated. Mississippi has it right when it comes to their permit process, just pay the fee, pass the background check, and you get one.

[Guest General_Mayhem]

Where MS has it wrong on its permit process is that they studiously respect the legal time limit on issuing permits and rarely if ever issue more than a couple days before the legal time limit.

[mac12]

I've been spending most of the summer in Olive Branch, MS. baby sitting( It is really my wife who is sitting with my new grandson. I just watch her.). We've gone to dinner several times at O'Charley's, Chili's, Long Horn, and others. It is nice to not have to disarm before entering like in Tennessee. I interpret the law to mean that you have to stay out of the bar area in these restaurants.

[Guest nraforlife]

Sounds as if you go to a restaurant that serves alcohol you are ok. If you go to a bar that serves food, you would not be ok.

Agree. Simple language would be something like its ok to carry in a restaurant but not at the bar or bar lounge.

[Guest goomba]

looks updated to me

IIRC in Virginia you can carry conceled in a resturaunt.

[Fallguy]

IIRC in Virginia you can carry conceled in a resturaunt.

It is just the opposite actually. You can not carry concealed, but you can carry openly.

See map in post 10

[Fivestring63]

Looks like TN is behind the times compared to everyone else on the restaurant carry.

[molonlabetn]

I Love TN... but this state is behind the times on almost everything (in some ways that's not necessarily bad).