We covered Derek Poe’s AR-15 open carry incident in Beaumont, Texas’s Parkdale Mall, and the mall’s response of prohibiting all guns, including concealed carry, by posting the required 30.06 signs.

In response, Poe, who owned a tactical gear shop in the mall (not a gun store, as some have reported) is moving out, and he is not alone:

The newest slogan for Remote Control Hobbies is ‘Here we grow again’ but the store isn’t getting bigger in Parkdale Mall.

It’s moving out.

“We had to second think if we were going to stay. We made the decision we’re going to leave because of the stance on concealed guns,” Owner Cherilyn Mitchell said. “Now everyone is saying they’re going to boycott the mall. I’ve gone from 150 tickets a day to two. Here it is on a Sunday and I have no traffic.”

She’s the second to leave. The first was Derek Poe, the owner of Golden Triangle Tactical who has received national attention for carrying his AR-15 slung over his back in the mall.

He was charged with disorderly conduct but said he was simply practicing his second amendment rights.

“I don’t agree with what Mr. Poe did. I do believe we all have the right to do a concealed hand gun, Mitchell said.

Parkdale mall representatives have already said that the signs simply clarify an existing policy.

Interestingly enough, the mall entrances are now posted with 30.06 signs, but Mitchell notes that the large anchor stores that have their own external doors have not been posted. This creates a situation where concealed carry is presumably legal in these un-posted anchor stores at the mall, but not inside the mall itself.

It will be interesting to see if Parkdale Mall loses any other tenants due to their newly enforced anti-concealed carry policy, if there will be a decrease in the number of shoppers, and how the policy will be applied to the anchor stores.

I don’t think that this story is over.