Wednesday, August 1, was declared Chick-fil-A day by Mike Huckabee. There were an 'overwhelming' number of customers visiting Chick-fil-A's nationwide, which I reported on at Good Hill Press. The outpouring of support for Chick-fil-A was tremendous.
Then I saw a report at Walls of the City of an Open Carry incident at the Turkey Creek Chick-fil-A in Knoxville. It was reported that someone was ejected from the store, and just a little later, as I understand it, Linoge, the Walls of the City blogger, Open Carried with no problem. Linoge reported (something he picked up from another site):
However, thanks to two nameless, faceless customers apparently complaining to the management at the Knoxville Chick-Fil-A about a "man with a gun", that particular establishment will be posting "no guns allowed" signage sometime this week*.
Well, wanting to get the information straight from the horse's er, cow's mouth, I called the Chick-fil-A in question, and spoke to Corey Rogers, the General Manager at Turkey Creek Chick-fil-A. I related to him that I had read on a blog post that they will be posting their store against firearms. Mr. Rogers told me plainly that they will not be posting. So, now we can lay that one to rest.
The Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear arms, but nowhere does it say that we have the right to be obnoxious for the cause. Those that carry a firearm should be mindful to avoid conflict in the public square, whenever possible.
Carrying openly brings with it an even higher standard of conduct. Like it or not, the Open Carrier is an ambassador for the cause. Good ambassadors win the general public to our side. Being contentious sets us back. It is well established that more guns in the hands of good guys equate to less crime, but some businesses and some members of the public have not entirely caught up to the facts. Others have.
In order to win the hearts and minds of those around us, we must always, and particularly when Open Carrying, be of a gracious mindset.
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A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Proverbs 22:3 (NLT)
Disclaimer: The information and ideas presented in this column are provided for informational purposes only. Firearms, like cars, kitchen knives and life itself all can be dangerous. You should get professional training as part of any plan to use firearms for any purpose. I have made a reasonable, good-faith effort to assure that the content of this column is accurate. I have no control over what you do, and specifically accept no responsibility for anything you do as a result of reading my columns. Any action or lack of action on your part is strictly your responsibility.
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