Fox News : Sonic, Chili’s join restaurants with no-guns policy

[TennJed]

I hate to say it, but I am to the point I wish the local law enforcement would overturn every stone looking for a way to arrest these guys carrying long guns in restaurants. As much as it sickens me to suggest police go out of their way to find a crime, these jerks are hurting all of us.

Maybe the NRA needs to hire a PI and follow these guys around and get some dirt on them. It is to the point they need to stop before it gets any worse, and unfortunately they do not have the mental capacity to grow up on their own

It is somewhat important to distinguish between OpenCarryTexas (OCT) and Open Carry Tarrant County (OCTC). They are two completely separate groups. OCTC is NOT a county chapter of OCT.

AFAICT, OCT does what they call gun walks. They notify local LEO of a time and place, usually public and outdoors and walk quietly with slung and unloaded rifles and pass out literature. They have adopted a 2 mile stretch of Texas highway which they keep free of litter (Texas has a program for groups to do this). They carry slung rifles while picking up the litter.

OCTC holds demonstrations with no advance LEO notice, often attempt to enter businesses, and may carry loaded weapons, not necessarily slung.

OCTC generates most of the bad press, OTC gets the blame.

OTC then needs to make a public stand with the NRA and against OCTC. They need to make it clear that they do not support this nonsense.

 

[JRH6856]

OTC then needs to make a public stand with the NRA and against OCTC. They need to make it clear that they do not support this nonsense.

That would be logical, but they seem to think that all gun rights groups should support each other even if they disagree with the others actions. So they support OCTC while saying that OCTC actions are not OTC actions. They seem to feel the NRA has betrayed and attacked the entire movement by criticizing the actions of OCTC and a few individuals. I get the sense that most of their ideas and reactions are driven more by emotion than logic and their actions and statements are not well though out in advance. It's like they thought, "Hey! we can legally carry rifles and people will see its no big deal." When it became a big deal, they didn't know how to react and became defensive and more confrontational. Typical emotion-driven response.

 

[Apachedriver]

I hate to say it, but I am to the point I wish the local law enforcement would overturn every stone looking for a way to arrest these guys carrying long guns in restaurants. As much as it sickens me to suggest police go out of their way to find a crime, these jerks are hurting all of us.

Maybe the NRA needs to hire a PI and follow these guys around and get some dirt on them. It is to the point they need to stop before it gets any worse, and unfortunately they do not have the mental capacity to grow up on their own.

Be careful what you wish for when it comes to methods of stopping them. I can understand the frustration with their offensive methods, as well as the public perception havoc they are wreaking. However, calling for their arrests for acting irresponsibly yet legally is a double-edged sword. It may stop them for now, but what's to stop the authorities then using those investigative tactics against the rest of us (gun owners) down the road. I've got nothing to hide but also don't need to be criminalized for my legal 1A or 2A stances.

I rather it turn back into a local story with their community dealing with them rather than a national story that continues to be spun into more negative fodder.

 

[Agsalaska]

I dont blame these companies at all and it will not even cross my mind if I decide to go eat there.

 

[mgmorden]

I dont blame these companies at all and it will not even cross my mind if I decide to go eat there.

I have to say I agree. Only thing that worries me is that these yahoo's will end up causing these restaurants to adopt an official corporate level policy of actually posting the properties. In SC those signs carry legal authority. In their idiotic posing of carrying an AR-15 into a restaurant they might end up preventing someone from sensibly concealed carrying into what used to be a neutral establishment.

 

[Midwest]

I hate to say it, but I am to the point I wish the local law enforcement would overturn every stone looking for a way to arrest these guys carrying long guns in restaurants.

California prohibited the public carrying of loaded firearms in 1966 after the Black Panthers marched on the California Capitol. The bill was called the Mulford Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulford_Act

Here is a more detailed explanation

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-414276.html

And if that wasn't enough, then they banned open carry of unloaded handguns.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44843817/ns/us_news-life/t/calif-governor-signs-ban-open-handgun-carrying/

My point is if they aren't careful in Texas, the state government could end up banning even open carrying of rifles as a backlash to these "open carry" events.
.

 

[danez71]

^^^^^^

And on the note....

Funny that when so many in CA were unloaded open carry (UOC) of scary black rifles... a lot of people here were cheering them on.

People got scared... CA banned that too. Apparently not enough in CA remembered the results of the black panthers OC'ing in CA.

TX does it and this thread is overwhelmingly saying its not a good idea.



You know why the NRA has spoken out against it?


Maybe because the NRA finally accepts the fact that this tactic has repeatedly failed whether its done to a restaurant or a state. I have yet seen or heard of an example of it working.


Yelling "fire" in a movie theater is classic example of 'just because you can doesn't mean you should". Because some jack hole fool did it... the result was that the 1A was parsed down.

 

[Ignition Override]

How would customers-especially those who only lived in our larger urban settings-know that Is legal to open carry, and are they to assume that those in an open carry demonstration can safely carry those guns?

Most customers in cities such as nearby Memphis TN would have no idea whether people (non-LEOs, in street clothes) carrying in public are well-trained or not, or whether they have strong self-discipline. Many of them seem unaware that Concealed carry is already legal.

Maybe we should not add serious risks in the progress which has been made with concealed carry laws, and seems to be expanding.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I'm all for legal protest, just don't be surprised if the outcome of your protest is the opposite of what you wanted.
I am split on the OCTC movement, but lean toward the NRA position on it.

The in-your-face tactics used by OCTC reminds me of the in-your-face gay rights movement. 'We're here, we're queer, get used to it' worked for that III%, but I don't think its an effective tactic for the pro 2A movement.

 

[rodinal220]

If I pull into Sonics park and eat with my POV,and the vehicle is a safe zone,how can they ban me??especially if they do not know im armed?

 

[Blackbeard]

A better protest would be to have all of these guys wearing speedos and carrying a concealed handgun in an obvious place. The motto for the signs -- which would you rather see?

 

[BSA1]

The Radicals must be silenced for the common good

1994 - "That is why our masters in Washington are so anxious to disarm us. They are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of a populace which cannot be subdued by tyrants." - Jeff Cooper

1995 - “…the semiauto-auto ban gives jack-booted government thugs more power to take away our constitutional rights, break in our doors, seize our guns, destroy our property, and even injure or kill us.” - Wayne LaPierre

2000 - Holding up a replica of a 19th century Sharps rifle, Charlton Heston said “So as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those fighting words for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed -- and especially for you, Mister Gore: From my cold, dead hands!”

2012 - “There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.” - Wayne LaPierre

2013 - "Revenge is what's motivating the president's unrelenting attacks on gun owners today," - James Porter

2013 - “Honestly, I don’t view myself as a victim of gun violence, I view myself as a victim of a maniac who happened to use a gun as a tool, and I view myself as a victim of the legislators at the time who left me defenseless.” - Suzanna Gratia Hupp, Killeen, Texas Luby's massacre survivor

 

[wojownik]

A better protest would be to have all of these guys wearing speedos and carrying a concealed handgun in an obvious place. The motto for the signs -- which would you rather see?

<shudder> Seeing the picture of the dufus' at the TX Chiptle, that visual would drive off business from an eatery even more surely.

If I were at any establishment, especially with my family, and some folks were porting arms, pointing them haphazardly, etc., I can assure you that I would remove myself from the premise immediately.

I don't blame these companies at all - they are being pushed into a corner over an issue that has nothing to do with their core business. These shenanigans upset otherwise uninvolved customers, provide a potential safety/liability risk (even moreso than the "food" they are serving), and just generally distract from normal business.

If the OC crowd really wants to make a statement, go to the heart of the matter ... go try and OC long arms like that near the state and county gov't buildings. Bet they'll get all the attention they want ...

 

[dab102999]

If the OC crowd really wants to make a statement, go to the heart of the matter ... go try and OC long arms like that near the state and county gov't buildings. Bet they'll get all the attention they want ...

Actually this is exactly what MGO (Michigan Gun Owners) has been doing for the last few years at there yearly rally. Only "grief" they got was asked to carry muzzel down so not to scratch the walls and artwork and to carry muzzel up when on second floor of senate building (I believe) so not to be pointing cover to those on the floor below.

 

[DrBozack]

Countdown to a Maureen Dowd op-ed about how the NRA rues the Frankenstein monster that it created.

 

[lilguy]

Some folks act like the Neanderthals they're portrayed as in the media. Prolife cause has their clinic bombers. We have our open carry fanatics. Its hard enough to fight the good fight on gun rights without gun waving idiots scaring the folks we are trying to win over. Are there any sane leaders in Texas who can rein these folks in?

 

[JRH6856]

If I pull into Sonics park and eat with my POV,and the vehicle is a safe zone,how can they ban me??especially if they do not know im armed?

They can't tell and they didn't ban anything of the sort. Sonic ony asks that customers not openly display firearms on their patios or in their inside dining rooms. Sonic said nothing about in car dining.

 

[mugsie]

I don't care what signs a store puts up, I still concealed carry. Concealed means concealed. No one knows I'm carrying, and In the event I ever need to actively defend myself of a loved one from a violent confrontation, I'm ready.

That being said, I would not open carry anywhere. I think it invites more problems than it solves.

 

[texasgun]

@mugsie

not so smart. Especially when we are talking about LEGAL signs (not the crossed thru gun, but the legal state signs) ... respecting a private business means to obey their rules. If you don't like them - please feel free to go elsewhere.

last but not least ... should you ever use a gun in a place where it's prohibited by law... well, one thing is for sure... the jury won't rule that in your favor if it's not a clear-case.

regarding Sonics, Chipotle and Co: I really do NOT care that they prohibit open carry. Doesn't bother me the least that some yahoos cannot open carry their AR15s there. Any business that prohibits concealed carry (with the proper signs) simply doesn't get my business. And frankly - there aren't that many.

 

[Old Dog]

It doesn't bother me in the slightest that some here maintain they will still patronize these two establishments regardless of their stance on firearms ... it does, however, bother me that anyone patronizes these two establishments in spite of the mediocre fare they offer ...

 

[DrBozack]

It doesn't bother me in the slightest that some here maintain they will still patronize these two establishments regardless of their stance on firearms ... it does, however, bother me that anyone patronizes these two establishments in spite of the mediocre fare they offer ...

In the long-term, you're more likely to die from Chili's and Sonic than at Chili's and Sonic.

 

[george burns]

These few morones "that's what they are" , are doing this for one of 2 reasons. Either they are just "stupid" , or being paid by some anti gun group to intentionally start problems. Someone should grab one and convince him to tell the truth about who is really behind this. I find it impossible to believe that anyone is stupid enough to think that it's OK to scare mothers and children by walking into a restaurant with an AR. This is just common sense. I wouldn't want them in there while I was eating my dinner either.
No normal person eats with a semi-auto rifle in hand. Even in theatre they put them down, unless in a war zone.
If the truth comes out that it's the same guys being paid by Bloomberg or through one of his shell company's, we culd finally get him out of the picture.

 

[Ben86]

I'd say now is the time to contact the NRA and let them know that most gun owners see the pointless carrying of rifles and shotguns into restaurants and other establishments as doing more to hurt the image of gun owners nationwide and possibly spark some needless, knee-jerk legislation that will further erode our rights. That way they are not afraid to make a clear distinction and speak out against this.

 

[9mmforMe]

If I were to see some dingbats walk into a restaurant with longarms in hand I would have my family hunker down and be damn ready to draw my handgun from concealment. How the hell do you know who is a chucklehead or a real bad guy?

 

[76shuvlinoff]

I am not "for" the posturing in eateries or other overt displays of firepower but I gotta tell ya... it seems the news is full of this or that nutcase shooting up our students and LEOs or one group of urban jackals sprays another group with innocents caught in the crossfire.

I am starting to think maybe training and slinging a semi automatic sporting rifle is not such a bad idea. Maybe a violent and overwhelming response to the violence of rampaging human waste should be the norm.

rant off.