Signs About Shooting Trespassers Good For Laughs, But Also Could Lead To Trouble

Novelty signs that say things like “trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again” are popular in Wyoming’s gun culture. But legal experts warn that if a homeowner is ever involved in a defensive shooting, a prosecutor could use that sign as evidence that the shooter had a predisposition to violence.

“In a really close case” where a shooter’s conduct is in question, a prosecutor might cite an allegedly threatening sign to nudge the needle toward a conviction, said Ryan Semerad, a trial attorney in Casper. “But you have the freedom of speech,” he added. Tongue-in-cheek warnings “can be funny and just expressing your personality.”

University of Wyoming law professor George Mocsary said such signs do not automatically establish liability or that a shooting was unlawful. “But it is a bad fact,” he said. “If a shooting occurs, a prosecutor or plaintiff’s lawyer would likely try to use the sign as evidence that the shooter had previously contemplated using deadly force against trespassers, or that the shooting was not a spontaneous, reasonable act of self-defense.”

Jason Crotteau, who runs Wyoming Tactical shooters’ training company in Riverton, said he has a few such signs in his home as novelty items—but they are not posted outside as a general warning. “They go in the gun room. They go in the bar,” he said. “It’s not a ‘take-it-seriously’ sort of thing.” He said he would not hang those signs on his property boundaries because “that could open the door to litigation.”

Former peace officer Frank Groth said a prosecutor might use a “trespassers will be shot” sign as leverage if a shooting was questionable in terms of justification. “In a questionable use of force case, a prosecutor might look at that sign and say, ‘Predisposition to violence.’”

Groth also dislikes such signs for another reason: he thinks they could attract thieves. Putting such signs in a home’s window or on a vehicle could broadcast that the owner has firearms. Thieves might wait until the owner is not around, break in, and steal guns. In remote rural areas it might matter less, but in larger communities like Cheyenne or Gillette, “It’s not what I would do,” Groth said. “If somebody’s asking me for advice, I would say, ‘Don’t do that. Don’t put out a sign like that.’ It just makes your house a target for thieves.”

Semerad offered a different view, noting that warning signs can sometimes discourage theft. “It’s a little bit of security theater,” he said. “The appearance of a threat is usually enough to deter people.” He added that locking doors is also effective, recalling a rash of gun thefts from vehicles in Casper where “nearly all the guns stolen were taken from unlocked vehicles.”