Pa. Patriot ARRESTED at the OC dinner @ The Old Country Buffet in Dickson City 5/9

[jayPA]

No misunderstanding here. I was just making a comparison for the masses that your post conjured up in my head

Thanks for the support and the kind words too.

Absolutley - and it's an honor to sorta-kinda meet you.

[Tootie]

Just sent this off the Old Country Buffet...

Regarding your latest decision to ban all gun owners whom lawfully carry either openly or concealed from your restaurants. I am confused about your statement that you support the 2nd amendment, but you are banning those that exercise it. That is not supporting the amendment, that is disregarding it. Because of this I and my family will no longer be patronizing any of your establishments as I am one of those that carry concealed. I will also inform all that I know (whether they carry or not) of your prejudice to law abiding citizens and will request that they also no longer patronize your restaurants.

Respectfully yours, Christine Dalton

Not to wordy but it gets my point across.

[brokerrob1]

no news on Fox's website yet... I did send articles to Fox and Drudge today, though. I have been keeping a pretty close eye online today for this to pop up on a major network.

I did find this on Fox yesterday... not a surprising end to this article when you consider the source.


http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008May...urants,00.html

Guns in restaurants draw stares but little outcry

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer
ADVERTISEMENT

RESTON, Va. —
The patrons at Champps, an upscale restaurant and bar chain, were eating ribs and drinking beer on a recent Saturday when customer Bruce Jackson stood up and made an announcement: He was armed, and so were dozens of other patrons.

The armed customers stood up in unison, showing off their holstered pistols and revolvers. Jackson said a word or two about the rights of gun owners to carry firearms in Virginia, then thanked everyone for their attention and sat down.

The diners returned to their burgers and Budweisers.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League organized the gathering at Champps to prove a point: that the presence of armed customers in northern Virginia restaurants would elicit little more than shrugs.

The Champps appearance _ and several other restaurant visits throughout northern Virginia last month _ were a response to comments from the majority leader in the state Senate, Democrat Richard Saslaw, who said armed patrons would be unwelcome in northern Virginia restaurants.

"In most urban areas, you walk into a restaurant with a gun on your hip, they're going to tell you to get out," Saslaw said.

In fact, with a few exceptions, the gun owners got their meals. The group went to eight different restaurants in April _ including the Fuddruckers burger chain and the McLean Family Restaurant _ and more often than not their presence failed to generate a stir. At two eateries, they were asked to leave.

All the restaurants were in Fairfax County, a bastion of suburbia and soccer moms outside Washington that is the wealthiest county in America, according to the most recent Census data.

"This is an area with a large population of government agents _ FBI, CIA, local," said Champps' manager, Carey Vereen. "In terms of people seeing open carry, it's not a shock to our customers."

It is also a place where nerves over the gun debate are still somewhat raw a year after the shootings at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were slain, including many from northern Virginia.

Gun owners in Virginia are allowed to carry firearms in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, as long as the restaurant permits it and they carry their weapon openly. Legislation to allow concealed weapons in restaurants serving alcohol passed the General Assembly this year, but was vetoed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

Virginia is one of two states, along with Montana, that demands any arms be openly carried in restaurants that serve alcohol, according to the Web site opencarry.org, which promotes and monitors gun owners' rights. Eleven states ban guns altogether in restaurants that serve alcohol, while the rest make no distinction between open and concealed carry.

At Champps, several patrons failed to notice that so many customers were armed, even though dozens of gun-toting men and women had walked right past them.

Tomas Nolasco said he hadn't noticed the guns and didn't care as long as they weren't drinking, which they weren't. His wife was a little more concerned.

"There are families in here, children in here," Cathy Nolasco said. "It bothers me."

Dave Vann, a retired D.C. police officer and VCDL member who organized the restaurant visits, said the gun owners' presence make the restaurant more safe, not less.

Many of the men who carry weapons said people frequently just assume they're police or retired police.

At one restaurant _ Mike's American Grill _ the group had gone essentially unnoticed until a woman in her 20s with a satin-finished, stainless-steel revolver got up from her table.

The restaurant's manager spotted her and asked the group to either put the guns in their cars or leave. They left.

"When I saw the gun on her hip, I was like, 'What is going on here?'" said the manager, Gabba Kaye, who hadn't noticed the guns when the group of 20 checked in for their lunch reservation.

Kaye said he hadn't received complaints from customers, but that the weapons made him uncomfortable. He also said he had been warned by the restaurant's owners about the visit and instructed not to allow the group service while carrying.

Saslaw said he's not necessarily surprised that VCDL found restaurants in the region that would allow them to dine while armed. But he said that carrying guns is simply not normal behavior in this area.

"What normal person walks around with a gun on your hip? Something's wrong in your life" if you feel compelled to carry a gun as part of your daily routine, he said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[mcarroll1987]

First thing out his smug mouth was about open carry.

[JoeWilliams]

Gave their corporate office a call, expressed my displeasure with their sign, and the dishonest nature of it. Informed them I am a former federal law enformcement officer, a decorated veteran, my wife is a schoolteacher, and my small child a boy who shoots with the family. I pointed out that their claims to support the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment are dishonest and insulting, that if they do not want the business of me, my wife, or my small child who likes to shoot they should just be honest enough to say so, since they will no longer be getting it anyway. Said that if they've chosen reject the money of the roughly half million armed Pennsylvanians, that was their right, as it is my right to take my money to a place that actually wants my business.

Bet that accomplishes a whole bunch

Originally Posted by BB62

Regarding the OCB having been posted - I guess they way they support American's rights (as they say they do) is by getting on board the "the presence (or sight) of a gun is an evil thing" bandwagon.

Their new sign is riduculous in its assertions. (post #94 in this thread)
http://www.pafoa.org/forum/general-2...m-page-10.html

Here is the sign content:

We support the freedoms granted every U.S. citizen under the United States Constitution, including the freedoms described in the second amendment. As a company, we work constantly to maintain the reputation that we have earned over the years – for fabulous food, great variety, and value. Our guest represent a cross-section of this great country, with families being some of our most loyal fans. To assure that those with small children are as comfortable as possible we prohibit firearms from our restaurants.

If you have questions about our policy, please contact our corporate office at:
(651)-994-8608

Media contact number is:
(212)521-4800.

[mcarroll1987]

http://www.wilknewsradio.com/

We have some info on the home page there too.

[SSGF109]

Are you all suprised this happened?..... It was only a matter of time!

[mcarroll1987]

Anyone else listening?

Atleast he aggrees it was legal.

[ChamberedRound]

Originally Posted by SSGF109

Are you all suprised this happened?..... It was only a matter of time!

Yes, we are surprised, and you should be too, because the DC police blatantly disregarded the rule of law and violated the rights of a number of our members, taking it even further with Rich. And, NONE of these people were doing anything wrong or were in violation of any law.

EM has already warned about bringing the CC/OC debate into this thread, and playing the "I told you so" game as it pertains to OC is an extension of that.

Keep the OC/CC debate in the OC/CC debate thread.

[sgser]

Has anyone reminded us of this yet?

On October 16, 1991, Hennard drove his 1987 Ford Ranger pickup truck through the front window of a Luby's Cafeteria at 1705 East Central Texas Expressway in Killeen, yelled "This is what Bell County has done to me!", then opened fire on the restaurant's patrons and staff with a Glock 17 pistol and later a Ruger P89. About 80 people were in the restaurant at the time. He stalked, shot, and killed 23 people and wounded another 20 before committing suicide. During the shooting, he approached Suzanna Gratia Hupp and her parents. Hupp had actually brought a handgun to the Luby's Cafeteria that day, but had left it in her vehicle due to the laws in force at the time, forbidding citizens from carrying firearms. According to her later testimony in favor of Missouri's HB-1720 bill[1] and in general [2][3], after she realized that her firearm was not in her purse, but "a hundred feet away in [her] car", her father charged at Hennard in an attempt to subdue him, only to be gunned down; a short time later, her mother was also shot and killed. (Hupp later expressed regret for abiding by the law in question by leaving her firearm in her car, rather than keeping it on her person[4].) One patron, Tommy Vaughn, threw himself through a plate-glass window to allow others to escape.[5] Hennard allowed a mother and her four-year-old child to leave. He reloaded several times and still had ammunition remaining when he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after being cornered and wounded by police.

Maybe OCB should get a copy