imported post
In the second Walmart email, it refers to the OP as a gun-activist, and I get the feeling that they're implying that his sole purpose in entering Walmart while OC'ing was to make a political statement.... rather than to do what most people do when they go to Walmart.
IMHO, making a political statement and/or arguing the 2nd Amendment when being negatively confronted for OC'ing is counterproductive. When we do that, we go from being just an average citizen exercising our RTKBA in the course of our daily lives, to a political activist (or gun-nut in a lot of people's eyes). Unless someone isa skilled debater & level-headed in an argument, thoroughlyfamiliar inlocal/state/federal firearms statutes and their applicability to the specific situation, andisable to produce concrete verifiable materials supporting OC;taking up an argument with management-types or LEOs on their turf and on their terms, is only going to paint the OC'er as a nuisance at least, or possibly a criminal trespasser if cooler heads don't prevail.
I agree that the best argument when confronted in a store, is to just drop everything and leave. Putting up a stink about it, quoting from internet forums half-rememberedstore policies/precedents/preemptionon OC'ing, and generally making a scene is going to attract the attention of not only management and security/LEOs, but also theJ.Q. Public.They'll decide that the show in the dairy-isle is more interesting than the hour-life of incandescent vs. fluorescent lightbulbs, especially since it involves a man-with-a-gun in heated argument with store mngmt & security. I can guarantee that the average Walmart joe/jane is secretly hoping for a firefight, and they're going to be either forming new opinions on gun-owners, or are having their existing negative opinions reinforced.
I know that in the throes of righteous indignation, it's very hard to not stand against the ignorance and discrimination exhibited by sheeple in suits who have been placed in positions of authority. But standing alone in a store full of looky-loos is not the time or place to fight for OC'ing. We have to do our fighting behind the scenes with letters, emails, and phone-calls to the high muckety-mucks,with corroboratinginformationclose at hand. A simpleton store-manager, shift supervisor, or greeterdoesn't have the pull to doanythingbutrequest thatthe offending firearm be left in a vehicle, or that the OC'erleave. Even if they agree with the OC'ers position, they'll simply be preempted by someonehigher up the food-chain who doesn't, and the result will be the same.
I OC for defense, notto make a statement (and I believe that most others herefeel the same way). If I can go about my errands for an entire day, visiting multiple businesses, and not be negatively confronted by a store employee, then I count that as a victory. Being hassled by another citizen because they're hoplophobic doesn't matter in the struggle for acceptance of OC'ing by the business community, so I pretty much ignore them. But if I walk into a Walmart and they tell me to disarm myself, my wallet leaving without being openeddoes the talking.