General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The grocery store, the gun, and my free speech rights [View all]gulliver
(13,142 posts)If I thought the guy was nuts, I'm not going to do anything in front of him. In that case I would probably try to find a manager to see what the store policy was or just look at the doorway for signs. If open carry was not allowed in the store, I would definitely call 911 and ruin the guy's day. Even if open carry was allowed in the store, I would complain to the store manager and then probably still call 911 to report the guy. They might send a car to mess with him. If he so much as looked at me sideways, I'd rat him out as acting in a threatening manner just to try to get him hauled off. I'd get his license number.
If it were just one of these paunchy gun wuss types, then yes, there is a good chance I would allow him to overhear me calling the cops. I might even ask him if he is a police officer or something. I might listen politely as he explained he had the right to openly carry. I might engage the cashier to see what the store policy was as part of that conversation. I would still make the call to the cops, but maybe not on 911. The point would be just to make the guy feel humiliated. It would not be courage at all, just a kind of mean-spirited desire to see an asshole suffer.
I don't feel threatened by open carry people in general, because they are usually just hapless pity cases in my experience. But calling the cops on them is no big deal in my book. A lot of people feel that way I'm sure.
But you're right, you never know how you would react until it happens. I've made a scene or two about Fox News showing in a public place, but this? I'm pretty sure I would do something, but I can't be sure.