I was asked to disarm today

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I went shopping today at the Gander Mountain in DeForest. This is where I purchased my most recent sidearm just three months ago; and it was that salesman who made me aware of the whole open carry thing in the first place. (I had heard rumors previously, but that's when I started to research it which led me here...) I have carried in this storesince thenwith no problems.

Anywho, this salesman in the guns area(I didn't get his name)kept looking at me strange. I smiled and said "Hi" and kept brousing. He then approached me and said "I assume your are law enforcement?" to which I replied "No, just a law abiding citizen."

He asked me to unload my weapon and place it in this nifty little sock he had. I did. I asked if this was corporate policy and he said it was a safety issue and store policy. I told him that this was disappointing because I thought Gander Mountain was friendly to the 2nd amendment. He said "Don't get mad at me and shoot me!" I was floored by that. The more I think about that statement the angrier I get.

I left the store without purchasing anything and called to speak to the store manager, Cliff, but he is not in yet. I will try him again later. I hope Cliff can straighten this out because I was eyeing upanother Kimber and an LCP.

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Buy guns from your neighborhood Mom&Pop gun shop and buy your staples from your grocer and not from some BigBox Chinese operation.

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Brendon .45 wrote:

He asked me to unload my weapon and place it in this nifty little sock he had. I did. I asked if this was corporate policy and he said it was a safety issue and store policy.

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To which I would have replied, "No disrespect, but I think a BIGGER safety issue is somebody asking me to remove my gun from my holster, where it is safely secured, and then handing it to a total stranger of whom I don't know the training background. If this is store policy, please point me to where it is written and I will kindly leave without buying anything, never return, and be sure to tell everybody I know that you do not support the gun rights of law-abiding citizens."

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To which I would have replied, "No disrespect, but I think a BIGGER safety issue is somebody asking me to remove my gun from my holster, where it is safely secured, and then handing it to a total stranger of whom I don't know the training background.

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I always ask for the location of the clearing barrel.... Thats usually puts an end to the issue.

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I just got off the phone with Cliff, the store manager.

I askedfor the store policy concerninga law abiding citizen legally open carrying a firearm and hesaid that Wisconsin statutes supported it and therefore so did his store (dare I sayhe even sounded enthusiastic about it). I relayed what had happened to me earier today and hetold me he must have some misinformed employees and that he would address that immediately.

Open carry is fully supported at this store!!

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Be careful. Actions speak more loudly than words. A wrongful arrest at the behest of a junior employee is still an arrest that can go horribly wrong.

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Doug Huffman wrote:

Buy guns from your neighborhood Mom&Pop gun shop and buy your staples from your grocer and not from some BigBox Chinese operation.

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I live in Madison - there are no little mom and pop gun shops...

I almost always buy locally for everything, but I was looking for something specific and GM had a nice used one. The other 2 "local"gun shops have bad hours and even worse selection.

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Brendon .45 wrote:

He asked me to unload my weapon and place it in this nifty little sock he had. I did.

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Big mistake in public. My gun is only coming out of my holster because I am entering my car, or to stop a life-threatening situation with appropriate force.

OCers really need to hold fast to their principles and their rights. Don't let anybody push you around. Just avoid a verbal conflict.

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Doug Huffman wrote:

Be careful. Actions speak more loudly than words. A wrongful arrest at the behest of a junior employee is still an arrest that can go horribly wrong.

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And that is why I complied with him (the employee)and didn't push the matter much. I thought it best to just leave peacefully and then go straight to the top from the comfort of my home.

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Brandon; Did you tell Cliff what the misinformed said to you about "dont get mad at me and shoot me"? I think the clown should be fired for a smart ass remark like that. I would contact Corp office over this:cuss:

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Oh yes, another thing, the only crap thats going to disarm me well be wearing a Badge. I would have not said anything and just left the store then called and talked to Cliff.

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By the time he told me not to shoot him, I was already disarmed. I think itwas kind of in jest; but still quite disconcerting that someone would actually think that.

I didn't mention this part to the manager as I didn't feel that would accomplish anything. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs over this. I just want everyone there to work from the same playbook, which it appears Cliff will make sure of that! I could tell thisemployee was not too familiar with handguns to begin with, and he even admitted that to me. I did mention this part to Cliff.

And for the record, I am the only person who handled my firearm during this situation.

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By the time he told me not to shoot him, I was already disarmed. I think it was kind of in jest; but still quite disconcerting that someone would actually think that.

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Had this happen in a grocery store one time. The guy made the comment loudly while in the checkout line, he even held up his hands, then moved to another line. When I got to the cashier, she looked at me and said "kind of an ass, wasn't he?"

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The last time I went to GM it was just to look at guns, I would never even consider buying one from them at the prices they have. I was OCing at the time. I was looking at the Ruger LCP and saying how I wanted a smaller gun to concealed carry, and the clerk said something like "Ya it would be a lot easier to conceal than that thing!" pointing at my Glock 19 on my hip.

But ya, go to a local small gun shop. The Ruger LCP at GM was $350. It was $300 where I bought it.

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Brendon .45 wrote:

Doug Huffman wrote:

Be careful.  Actions speak more loudly than words.  A wrongful arrest at the behest of a junior employee is still an arrest that can go horribly wrong.

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And that is why I complied with him (the employee) and didn't push the matter much.  I thought it best to just leave peacefully and then go straight to the top from the comfort of my home.

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Never disarm for anyone other than on orders of a police office. Never ever for some store clerk! Did you get this guys name? I have carried in that store several times without incident and will do so again as soon as I can to make sure this is settled.

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Here's a good one; I got double discriminated against; Customer comes in who's an employee for a company who's machines I work on. He's minority. So were chatting while I finish up his paperwork for his boss, and we get to the topic of the Open Carry meeting we held. He says; Yeah, you white guys love your guns. Let that one pass by. Not going to even twitch over it, aside from on here. What a knob is all I can say.

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Brendon .45 wrote:

By the time he told me not to shoot him, I was already disarmed. I think itwas kind of in jest; but still quite disconcerting that someone would actually think that.

I didn't mention this part to the manager as I didn't feel that would accomplish anything. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs over this. I just want everyone there to work from the same playbook, which it appears Cliff will make sure of that! I could tell thisemployee was not too familiar with handguns to begin with, and he even admitted that to me. I did mention this part to Cliff.

And for the record, I am the only person who handled my firearm during this situation.

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I think you handled the jesting clerk and the situation just fine. Some people in the same situation like to jaw some before they decide what to do--exit or comply.

In this case the jester "won" the skirmish but you "won" the battle.

Running a big box retailstore is a complicated nightmare. And the people who work there do make mistakes.

Hell, they may make the same mistake again in a month. It's not like OC is normal or anything....

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*

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Pointman wrote:

McX wrote:

Here's a good one; I got double discriminated against; Customer comes in who's an employee for a company who's machines I work on. He's minority. So were chatting while I finish up his paperwork for his boss, and we get to the topic of the Open Carry meeting we held. He says; Yeah, you white guys love your guns. Let that one pass by. Not going to even twitch over it, aside from on here. What a knob is all I can say.

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You are white, and you apparently love guns, therefore the appropriate "cracker"response is to smile and say, "DAMN STRAIGHT!"

That was the great thing about taking a class on carrying a gun in public--they teach people to deescalate situations.

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It would be interesting to find out the number of guns owned per capita guns for whites vs. the same number forblacks in the U.S...

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HankT

Legal or illegal guns? :quirky