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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Bill of Rights

Yesterday I shared a petition to Sonic & Chile's asking them to create a non-weapons policy for their customers.

The reason for the petition is because groups of people armed with rifles and assault weapons are invading places such as Starbucks, Jack in the Box, Chipotle, Sonic, and Chile's and posting pictures.

They claim they are merely exercising their rights to bear arms.

Most people are not trying to take guns away from responsible gun owners; they merely want a few more controls placed on them. (Such as things like trigger locks, locked boxes, background checks.)

I am not going into the statistics of how many people die in America due to gun usage. (The gun people will tell you people die from hammers and cars too.)

I am not going to argue the Second Amendment here. 

To be quite honest, I like guns. I like target shooting. I like feisty heroines who can protect themselves. (Mara in The Misplaced Bride has a gun.)

What I take exception to is how abusive the commenters on the petition share became. 

One man told me to "pull up your little kids shorts" and get over it. He also told me I was paranoid and should never leave my house because I said I wouldn't take kids into Sonic for an ice cream if I saw all those men with guns.

In fact, over the course of over 90 comments (most of which I stopped reading) I, or my supporters, were called paranoid a number of times.

I cogitated on paranoia most of the night. 

The men who responded all said they carried to protect them and their families. Who sounds paranoid to you?

I do not need a gun to go food shopping or to take my kids for ice cream. I walk my dog at three in the morning. (Something I've done since I was a teen.) 

I am not afraid to travel nor am I afraid to go into cities, even the rougher parts of town. I do not fear strangers.

I am a rape survivor and I do not feel the need to arm myself to the teeth to be safe. 

It is my contention that someone who feels they must carry a gun to feel safe is the one who is paranoid.

What do you think?

If you would like to sign the petition or contact Chile's and Sonic yourself, the information is listed below.

http://act.everytown.org/sign/chilis-sonic-petition/?

Chili’s Grill and Bar: 
TWITTER: @Chilis #RibsNotRifles
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Chilis
PHONE: Greg Artkop, Communications: (800) 775-7290 

Sonic Drive In: 
TWITTER: @sonicdrivein @plenow#ShakesNotShotguns
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/sonicdrivein
PHONE: Patrick Lenow; Media Relations: (405) 225-5600
EMAIL: patrick.lenow@sonicdrivein.com

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