I own a couple of guns, a handgun and a shotgun. If I carried the shotgun into my local *gun store *, say it needed work done, and loaded/racked the gun inside the gun store I’d be told to get the fuck out at best. I would not be surprised if the owner pulled her gun on me while hitting the silent alarm.
But WalMart? WTF?
doorhinge (and others who are arguing in the ‘no harm, no foul’ portion of this debate), one query: If you had been in that store with your children (or depending on your age, your siblings, niece/nephew(s), etc., and observed a man enter the store with a shotgun and then load and rack it in your vicinity…
What would you have thought? What would you have done?
I truly am curious as to your response.
You’re a pretty biased source, and you’re leaving lots out of this story, kayaker.
What gauge shotgun? Does the store sell that gauge? Is that the store where you bought it? We’re missing lots of important information.
Was the stock synthetic or natural walnut? This is critical, people!
If this particular Walmart sells guns, doesn’t that make it a gun store?
No. It’s a WalMart that sells guns. I do not know anyone who has purchased a gun from a WalMart. I know several people who have bought guns from gun stores, where guns, ammo, gun cases, scopes, hunting coats, targets, and fishing rods are sold.
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I don’t believe the the Chief did anything wrong. Neither did the responding officers. It appears that satisfactory police procedures are in place to handle the various calls that the PD receive from the public. When the PD recieved calls from the public concerning actions at the Walmart, it was decided to dispatch SWAT. Why was that decision made? When the media asked if the Chief thought that the police had overreacted, he said, “Absolutly not”, and I agree with him.
02:41 - We have seen open carry. Nothing that has garnered this kind of reaction. And you have to understand, this a reaction by you all, the public. We were drawn into it in response. But again, As Cary was asking, do you think this was an overreaction, absolutly not.
In order to better understand why SWAT was dispatched, I believe that it’s important to hear the 9-1-1 calls that were received by the PD. Since there were no arrests, I consider it unlikely that the recordings will be released.
As to your other post, police respond because they are notified of a possible crime, or dangerous situation. As I said earlier, the police did nothing wrong in this case. I do question the sincerity of some of the callers who reported the incident. Were they trying to create a nationally televised incident? Was this the first time they had ever seen a shotgun outside of a violent video game or TV show?
You state that you THINK the intent (of the open carry) was too cause controversy, gain attention and scare people. But then claim that “WE” only KNOW that because no one was actually shot. Based on the evidence available to date, “WE” don’t KNOW anything of the kind.
The rest of your post has nothing to do with the events that occured at the Walmart.
If you buy whiskey at the local supermarket, does that make it a liquor store?
If you buy a condom in Safeway, does that make it a sex shop?
Guns, ammo, gun cases, scopes, hunting coats, targets, and fishing rods are sold at both of the Walmarts in Gulfport, MS. I guess that makes them a gun store. Are you close to either store?
Yes.
Is it legal for underage customers to enter the store?
Doesn’t Mississippi have any laws concerning menacing? Brandishing a pocket knife here could get you arrested.
The WalMart near me sells DVDs. They are a video store.
They sell stamps, so they’re post offices too.
If it were a 20ga, my daughter would have asked if she could see it. She’s looking for a good 20ga.
This incident didn’t occur in a Chicago, or a NYC, where people piss in their pants when they see a firearm. It occurred in an area where people are used to seeing firearms in the hands of hunters, target shooters, store owners, business persons, farmers, ranchers, and self-defense advocates.
According to the media reports, the Walmart was the 3rd store these open-carry shot gunners had entered that day. What was different about the Walmart? Was it how some members of the public had described the incident to 9-1-1?
They have bathrooms and kitchens and garages-they must also be private residences!
I agree with you.
I think the point that he was trying to make was that if one walked into a store that sold only guns and had knowledgeable staff used to guns and gun owners and if one did what those clowns did in the Walmart, then one would get the bum’s rush out of there and/or have the police summoned. I’m assuming that the proper etiquette if one was bringing in a gun into a store to see what parts might fit it would be to carry the gun in a bag or something and not make like you’re about to shoot.
Someone’s never been to Gulfport.