Not to bust on this officer right out of the gate, but concealed means concealed. The off-duty officer and his wife were about to enjoy an evening at the movies when he dropped his ticket and went to pick it up. When he did this, his handgun was exposed and immediately spotted by an employee at the theater.
The off-duty officer happily showed the employees his badge, but they still asked that he bring his firearm to his car. Displeased with this request, the couple decides to leave instead.
In Texas, businesses are allowed to ban firearms from their premises if they have a “30.06” sign prominently posted at the entrance. This law does however provide an exemption active law enforcement. The theater has released a statement regarding this exact encounter:
“For the safety of our guests and associates, we do not permit weapons in our theatres. However, we welcome off-duty officers as guests at AMC and they are exempt from this policy with official identification. Based on the information we’ve received, the guest did not show an official department identification card and our theatre team properly enforced this policy. We have reached out to the guests to discuss the situation directly with them.”
Whatever the case may be, it really comes down to these two important things:
1) Concealed means concealed.
His handgun should have never been exposed in the first place.
2) If a business doesn’t respect your rights, spend your money elsewhere.
And before you leave, give them this card.