cut_cutta
Regular Member
imported post
Title pretty much says it all. I had been shopping w/ my gf, and she got cold and didn't have a jacket, so I let her wear mine. The jacket covers my XD45, but without a jacket, the shirt doesn't cover that well, and sometimes creeps up behind the grip, leaving me fully open, as far as carry goes. After we were done shopping, my gf decided to go to Hot Topic to buy a sweatshirt. I had a minor non-incident there, that was unrelated to my run-in with the security officer, but I'll tell it anyway because it adds to the series of events.
While checking out of hot topic, a lady that works their saw it and said "Is that real?". I replied, "Yep.". She asked if I was a police officer. I said "Do I look like one?" She then asked if that was legal. I said yeah. She asked if i had a license, I said yeah, but I don't need one. Then she started to ask me why I carried. I said "to protect myself, because you never know". She couldn't undestand that concept, and kept asking WHY i would need "THAT" at the innocent mall. I said "there's mall shootings all the time. There was one in tacoma within the last couple years, and one at northgate last month" (albeit in the parking lot). She starting yapping about how "yeah, well those shootings were because people like you were carrying a gun". I said "I'm not a psychopath though, I'm one of the good guys. I'll cover it up and leave." The guy behind the counter was agreeing with me, though, so I wasn't feeling totally accosted. Really, I didnt care about what they had to say about my law abiding ways of life, so I covered and left.
I stood in the middle of the mall, while my GF finished checking out. She handed me my jacket back, and while putting it on, my 45 apparently became exposed again. A security gaurd had been talking to some people right there, and apparently saw it. As I was starting to walk away, he approached me, and asked "Sir, what is that on your hip?". I stated, "a gun". He asked "Now sir, why do you feel the need to carry a gun here?". I said "for protection, cause nobody else is going to protect me". He paused for a few seconds, seemingly dumbfounded, so I continued, "Do you have a problem with that?". He stated, "Yes, actually I can't allow that to be in this facility, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave with it." I just said "Ok, I was just leaving anyway", and started walking away.
So I walked off casually with my girlfriend, through the food court, while the security dude followed about 30 feet back. Then, as I was trying to find my car, I saw a mall security SUV creeping slowly up the aisles, keeping its distance. They were just trying to make sure that I was actually leaving, I guess. At any rate, I don't believe I was banned from the mall or anything. I think they just wanted the gun out of the mall. I guess I should have asked more questions, but like I said, I was leaving anyway, so I didn't really feel like dealing with bullcrap. I really do believe that the 2 incidents were completely unrelated, but who knows.
Maybe I didn't handle the situation the best, or find out as much information as I could have about their policy, but I don't think I owe anybody anything, so it's all good. Just thought I'd let everybody know what happened (to the best of my recollection.
Looks as though this place will probably need to be added to the "do not patronize" database, if it hasn't been already.
Title pretty much says it all. I had been shopping w/ my gf, and she got cold and didn't have a jacket, so I let her wear mine. The jacket covers my XD45, but without a jacket, the shirt doesn't cover that well, and sometimes creeps up behind the grip, leaving me fully open, as far as carry goes. After we were done shopping, my gf decided to go to Hot Topic to buy a sweatshirt. I had a minor non-incident there, that was unrelated to my run-in with the security officer, but I'll tell it anyway because it adds to the series of events.
While checking out of hot topic, a lady that works their saw it and said "Is that real?". I replied, "Yep.". She asked if I was a police officer. I said "Do I look like one?" She then asked if that was legal. I said yeah. She asked if i had a license, I said yeah, but I don't need one. Then she started to ask me why I carried. I said "to protect myself, because you never know". She couldn't undestand that concept, and kept asking WHY i would need "THAT" at the innocent mall. I said "there's mall shootings all the time. There was one in tacoma within the last couple years, and one at northgate last month" (albeit in the parking lot). She starting yapping about how "yeah, well those shootings were because people like you were carrying a gun". I said "I'm not a psychopath though, I'm one of the good guys. I'll cover it up and leave." The guy behind the counter was agreeing with me, though, so I wasn't feeling totally accosted. Really, I didnt care about what they had to say about my law abiding ways of life, so I covered and left.
I stood in the middle of the mall, while my GF finished checking out. She handed me my jacket back, and while putting it on, my 45 apparently became exposed again. A security gaurd had been talking to some people right there, and apparently saw it. As I was starting to walk away, he approached me, and asked "Sir, what is that on your hip?". I stated, "a gun". He asked "Now sir, why do you feel the need to carry a gun here?". I said "for protection, cause nobody else is going to protect me". He paused for a few seconds, seemingly dumbfounded, so I continued, "Do you have a problem with that?". He stated, "Yes, actually I can't allow that to be in this facility, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave with it." I just said "Ok, I was just leaving anyway", and started walking away.
So I walked off casually with my girlfriend, through the food court, while the security dude followed about 30 feet back. Then, as I was trying to find my car, I saw a mall security SUV creeping slowly up the aisles, keeping its distance. They were just trying to make sure that I was actually leaving, I guess. At any rate, I don't believe I was banned from the mall or anything. I think they just wanted the gun out of the mall. I guess I should have asked more questions, but like I said, I was leaving anyway, so I didn't really feel like dealing with bullcrap. I really do believe that the 2 incidents were completely unrelated, but who knows.
Maybe I didn't handle the situation the best, or find out as much information as I could have about their policy, but I don't think I owe anybody anything, so it's all good. Just thought I'd let everybody know what happened (to the best of my recollection.
Looks as though this place will probably need to be added to the "do not patronize" database, if it hasn't been already.