I went to Bass Pro Vegas yesterday after the Laurie Bisch meetup at Broadway. I had been planning to go there this weekend anyway, but this whole thing rolled together perfectly.
One of the girls that has worked at broadway for several years has a Dad who works the gun counter at Bass Pro (Danny). This came up because she tried to call him to get him there for the meetup, but he had to go to work.
So I headed down there. The greeter didn't give me any trouble (although I can't be sure she even noticed it). I made a bee-line for the gun counter up the escalator. I browsed for a few minutes, until I spotted Danny, and approached him, introduced myself, and told him I had just come from the Laurie Bisch meetup at his Daughter's work. I figured this would immediately defuse things a bit. Within a few seconds, several of the guys behind the gun counter were eyeing me and each other, pointing and such. I politely advised them that:
Bass Pro’s policy is and “always was” to respect lawful customer gun carry, concealed or open, and that steps the following steps are being taken to ensure this policy is understood by all managers and employees, including production and distribution of training videos as well re-drafting of signage pertaining to guns.
... per Larry Whitely, Director of Communications. I also advised them that someone had spoken to their district manager as recent as that morning and confirmed as such. They all claimed no knowledge of this, but accepted it as fact, and all was cool.
I went ahead and made a purchase I had been considering for a while, a Walther P22 (I want to build a small-caliber silenced platform). I had planned on acquiring it for less, but decided the small price difference between Bass Pro and elsewhere was worth it for what was to come...
SO, at Bass Pro, the procedure with a gun purchase is that the counter guy does all the paperwork, and has it called in for the background check. Once it is all completed, the MOD (in this case Operations Manager Mike) review it all, does final release, and then escorts you out the front door. (Seems kinda silly when I have a Glock 45 on my hip, but no biggie).
So, while walking, I asked OpsMan Mike if he was familiar with the recent policy "clarification" regarding concealed and open carry, and he said he was. I advised him that not one person at the gun counter was familiar with it. He apologized, and said that he himself just got word a few days ago, and they were working on disseminating that information. I also advised him that the reason they got that gun sale was because of this recent policy clarification, and that I wanted to show my appreciation for them respecting my rights, even though it was still a little awkward.
He also brought up that it was an awkward situation for them because of being attached to a casino, and that the casino forbids firearms, as all of them do (his words).
I clarified for him that as private property owners, they can choose their policy, and that I respect their right to choose that. But I have the right to not patronize them, and that was the real issue at hand with Bass Pro. Bass Pro cannot expect to sell firearms to firearms enthusiasts, but not respect rights within the bounds of the local and state laws. It would be hypocritical to say the least.
He agreed, and thanked me for my business. Lastly, I advised him that I would be posting my results back to this forum, and that he should expect to see more of my Open-Carrying brethren in the coming weeks.
Overall, an extremely positive and productive experience! :celebrate