I don't think that AZ is a good example, at least not in the context used by the OP. About 18 months ago, AZ implemented no-permit aka constitutional carry. While AZ had long been a "Gold Star" open carry state, I expect that the media surrounding the legal changes to the CC law also (unintentionally?) informed many of their OC rights as well, likely leading to an increase in both modes of carry. Yes, that is a supposition, however, it is at least as valid as the anecdotal lead of the OP.
IF indeed there are more no-OC postings in AZ lately then something is leading to that change. Since the claim is specific to OC, it would most logically be concluded that an increase in anti-OC sentiment at businesses would be due to an increase in OCing customers. Assuming all that, it means that we are making progress because more people are invoking their right to OC, enough so that businesses are actually taking note of it and expressing their opinion on the matter.
Assuming all the above to be at least somewhat true, I would argue that an increase in opposition is not indicative of losing ground. Most people wouldn't much notice if the subject were not raised to the level that it gained their attention through media or contact with the behavior. And sometimes there is a knee jerk reaction that leads to such signs but over time, as the matter becomes normalized without incident, the opposition quietly dries up and goes away. Example: About 8 years ago when MO was passing the CC law, one of the heavy hitting, i.e. wealthy and well-known, opponents was the Schnuck family. They own a sizable chain of grocery stores named, perhaps obviously, Schnuck's, mostly in MO, but also in TN and I believe some other states. So, not only did they help fund a lot of anti-CC media, they actively lobbied to prevent passage and then later, to prevent implementation. They bought into the "blood in the streets" anti-CC argument. For about 5-6 years they posted no firearms signs at their stores. But there was no blood in the streets. There was ... nothing, except a lot of citizens prepared and able to defend themselves shopping at Schnuck's quietly ignoring the signs. Then the signs quietly came down. I saw that with several other businesses in MO as well.
The biggest threat to the antis is the lack of problems from carrying. When there is no problem, people stop worrying about it. It goes off the radar. That is where the normalizing of OC is of benefit. Where it is considered normal and there are no issues with it, people don't tend to get excited about it on any level. The normalization process though can be messy as people over-react to something new (to them).
Less than a decade ago, CC was a major issue in MO. We have slowly improved the CC laws here and now we have 2 different OC preemption bills pending in the legislature. Even if neither is perfect and even if neither passes, that we have 2 that are more than just fringe bills that are essentially ignored is very real progress. Go to the OCDO home web page and look at the OC map. Note the number of gold star states. Go to handgunlaw.us and note the number of shall issue states we now have.
Progress is sometimes slow and there are set-backs. As I have often pointed out, it took sixty years for the antis to get from the 1934 NFA to the 1994 AWB with a surge in violent crime in 20s-30s following prohibition to get the 34 NFA, civil unrest, assassinations and several media publicized marches with loaded weapons to get the 68 GCA, media fueled fear of violent drug lords with massively exaggerated focus on automatic weapons to get the 86 GCA (which also included FOPA so it wasn't a total loss) and finally the anti's zenith of the 94 AWB which was not nearly as stringent as they wanted as it didn't ban existing prohibited guns and accessories. We didn't effectively start to fight back really until 1987 when FL passed its CC law bringing citizen carry back to the forefront. Over the last 25 years we have been clawing back our rights state by state. Gaining CC in 49 states, increasing the number of shall issue states, gaining Constitutional carry in AK, AZ and WY in 03, 10 & 11, respectively (VT has always been such), and increasing the right to OC as well as normalizing OC throughout the process. According to Gallup we finally have a majority of US citizens again supporting our carry rights at least in general.
So yes, we are making progress. Not as quickly or as fully as many here would like, but changing laws and cultural norms takes time. We must be patient and resolute in our goals.
I do note that the OP shows being in NJ. Now I can certainly understand how someone in NJ feels that we are not making any progress. That state is among the most egregious anti-2A states in the union and I have seen nothing indicating that we have made any real progress in that state. However, through my in-laws I do know several NJ retirees now living in FL who regularly CC so perhaps there is hope for those still living there.
