"No one has any business having or carrying a gun"

[heili]

Google "Derek Fenton". Do you think you need to be at work when saying something unpopular to be fired??

What's your point? That I didn't say 'you can get fired for expressions of opinion while not at work' too?

That is true, and it happens all the time. If I go out and publicly express an opinion that is potentially damaging to the reputation of my employer, I'm going to get fired. It's up to me to decide whether or not those opinions are worth paying the price of expressing them.

Actions always have consequences.

[reverserboy]

What's your point? That I didn't say 'you can get fired for expressions of opinion while not at work' too?

That is true, and it happens all the time. If I go out and publicly express an opinion that is potentially damaging to the reputation of my employer, I'm going to get fired. It's up to me to decide whether or not those opinions are worth paying the price of expressing them.

Actions always have consequences.

I was just pointing something out....that's all.

So I guess I should cover my face the next time I go to a tea party.

IMO...employers are sometimes overly concerned about what their employees are doing off duty & off their property. JMO.

[heili]

I was just pointing something out....that's all.

So I guess I should cover my face the next time I go to a tea party.

IMO...employers are sometimes overly concerned about what their employees are doing off duty & off their property. JMO.

I think that a large part of the time, employers are way too interested in controlling what employees do when those employees are not functioning in their work capacity.

Unfortunately with the unemployment rate the way it is, the balance of power is tilted toward employers since they are likely to have a pool of qualified people to pick from, and if there's something they don't like they consider the employee can be replaced.

The only time the balance swings the other way is when the candidate pool is small and employers have to compete to get the best people. In that case, employers are much more likely to ignore things done 'off hours'.

Although I still wouldn't recommend actually having a debate over firearms with the boss at the holiday lunch unless you're damn sure the boss likes debate and will respect differing opinions.

[Flash]

What's your point? That I didn't say 'you can get fired for expressions of opinion while not at work' too?

That is true, and it happens all the time. If I go out and publicly express an opinion that is potentially damaging to the reputation of my employer, I'm going to get fired. It's up to me to decide whether or not those opinions are worth paying the price of expressing them.

Actions always have consequences.

I gotta laugh remembering. Just this exact thing was hashed out in Ohio about twenty years ago in the courts. It involved certain Electrolux employees, union members all, who had bumperstickers on their cars (parked in the employee parking lot) proclaiming "ELECTROLUX SUCKS!"

They ultimately lost their Electrolux jobs - -what the union did with/for them, I cannot recall.

Flash

[Foofer]

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say" Will Durant

[Black Widow]

I was at a holiday lunch yesterday with several co-workers and bosses, when the topic of carrying and owning a gun in general came up. The prevailing pig headed idea being spewed by the big boss is that no one has any business owning a gun and certainly no business carrying one "unless they're a cop". Some other dope insisted it's not even legal till you're over 25 years old.

Big boss went on to add he'd recently had to demand a friend of his daughter's leave his property based on the fact that the friend was openly carrying. That part, in theory I can at least respect. It's probably on the inconsiderate side to assume you can openly carry to a stranger's home, at least make an effort to conceal or leave it in the car. Maybe the visitor could have quickly addressed the issue by explaining his position and defused the situation upon arrival? Anyway that's another topic in itself. Not sure how to handle being outed for carrying when a you're a guest on someone else's property/house.

Sadly, I had to tuck my tail and keep tight lipped since like the rest of us lowly workers I'm not in a position to challenge the big boss on an issue he clearly feels very stubbornly over. Had to consider the fact that I still need a steady paycheck, although I feel strongly opposed to his taking a dump on the 2A.

Privately, I have 100 arguments to counter this short-sighted naive one. I suspect my tight lipped response or lack-there-of, probably raised some eyebrows as this is not my default reaction to most discussions. I guess I have some satisfaction that at least there is some doubt regarding my agreement on the subject.

Just thought I'd share this frustrating scenario, though I realize this certainly won't earn me any rep points around here. I'm hoping my decision in picking my battles was the best, and no response was the best. At the end of the day, I need a paycheck for food and ammo!

Any other scenarios where you've had to bite your tongue and swallow your pride over your rights? Or am I the only poor sap who let my paycheck own me?

What would it have accomplished if you had responded? Nothing you could have said would have changed this guys mind. He sounds like one who likes to vocalize his opinions and force all around him to own them also. Silence is sometimes golden.