Unfortunately, those who disregard the signs and are caught detecting do just as much harm to our cause as those whose behavior led to the bans in the first place.
Yes, there is merit to the adage "it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" but IMHO that expression should not apply to our hobby. Why? because there is a moral high ground perceived by persons who pushed for and got the bans, and once detecting is "outlawed' and the sign goes up, there mere existence of the ban makes the hunter an outlaw, period. Lawn police. Do-goodas. Nosy busybodies. You name the group. They see no distinction, and do not care to, between you with your CTX and a Lesche and the mope with the divining rod and a snow shovel and a pick axe prowling the tot lot. All they see is their sign, and a guy with a detector. "Quick, Honey, call 911! All the problems we have,unemployment, crime, littering, trespassing, teen pregnancy, and drug abuse are all HIS fault!"
My feeling is anyone taking time to read and post on forums is probably not the culprit. I have yet to see that sort of behavior exhibited here on thise forum. The problem lies elsewhere.
The key is to isolate the bad apples before they isolate us by default. We will never win the hearts of those ignorant low-information types reacting to the shovel mopes. We need to keep up the self-policing and take every opportunity to educate the public that we law-abiding detectorists are not destroying the planet any more than any of the other activities mentioned earlier in this thread do.
Every rule has exceptions. IMHO it makes more sense to ask the cop, ranger, sheriff or park police for permission, the sign notwithstanding. Go for it. Ask. From experience I can say that the officers I have asked, even if they say no, are quite reasonable once they understand how we do what we do. Sometimes they do say yes as long as the permission isnt abused and we aren't packing shovels.
Thanks for listening.