Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 21:12:36 -0600
From: "The Old Blue Howler" <[l--oa--l] at [ICSI.Net]>
To: [N--B--N] at [tomahawk.welch.jhu.edu]
Subject: All you ever wanted to know about Dominos but were afraid to ask

HEADLINE  Gun-Toting Pizza Man Gets Pink Slip; Woodbridge Assailants Back Off,
          but Domino's Doesn't
          Byline:   Leef Smith
          Credit:   Washington Post Staff Writer
LENGTH    ESTIMATED INFORMATION UNITS: 4.4     Words: 499
DATE      03/29/95
SOURCE    THE WASHINGTON POST   (WP)
          Edition:  FINAL
          Section:  METRO
          Page:     D01
          Category: NEWS VIRGINIA
          (Copyright 1995)
                A Woodbridge man was fired Monday from his part-time job
         delivering Domino's pizza after he drew a .45-caliber handgun to
          ward off two attackers, according to company officials.

               Anthony Leone, 34, had been dispatched to deliver a pizza at
          the Woodbridge Apartments on Thursday night when he was approached
          near his car by two teenagers and punched in the jaw, police said.
          Leone, who said he carries a hip-holstered gun when he makes
          deliveries in Prince William neighborhoods he considers dangerous,
          said he drew his weapon and told his assailants to back off.

                They did, but Leone was fired as soon as his employer got wind
          of the incident through a published police report that Leone had
          filed himself. He was let go for violating Domino's corporate
          policy, which prohibits employees from carrying weapons on the job.
          Leone was carrying the gun legally under Virginia law.

                "I took safe and responsible steps toward protecting myself,"
          said Leone, a former member of the U.S. Shooting Team. "If I hadn't
          been carrying the gun, there's a distinct chance I wouldn't be here
          right now."

                Domino's instructs its employees to comply with attackers
          instead of fighting back and risking injury. If a driver feels
          unsafe entering a neighborhood or a building, the driver is told to
          leave, officials said.

                "We'd much rather deal with an angry customer because we
         didn't deliver a pizza than have to bury someone," said Tim
         McIntyre, corporate spokesman for Domino's Pizza.

                 Gun owners across the nation have drawn conclusions about
          self-protection that are similar to Leone's, fueling a national
          movement to relax restrictions on those who legally own guns.
          Leading the charge is Virginia, where Gov. George Allen (R) supports
          a bill to make it easier for residents to get permits to carry
          concealed weapons.

                The bill has yet to be signed into law, but since it passed
          Virginia's General Assembly last month, inquiries for permit
          applications have gone up 70 percent in Prince William County alone.
          Leone's application soon will join the pile, he said.

                Leone, an accounting student at Northern Virginia Community
          College, said he started carrying the gun two years ago after a
         Domino's co-worker was beaten with a baseball bat during a delivery.
          Leone said that his employer was unaware he took a gun with him
          during some of his deliveries but that he decided he "wasn't going
          to be a sitting duck anymore."

              Research shows that guns "are more of a detriment than a
          benefit," said Susan Whitmore, spokeswoman for Handgun Control Inc.,
          a gun-control group. "It's a dangerous mistake to buy into the idea
          that guns make us safe," she added.

              Said Tanya Metaksa, the National Rifle Association's chief
          lobbyist: "This was not the first deliveryman to be attacked by
          thugs at night, nor will he be the last.

              "At least he's alive to tell his story. Others have not been so
          fortunate."

           @CAPTION:  Anthony Leone displays some of his shooting medals and
          the .45-caliber handgun he carried.
          @Art:  PHOTO,,gerald martineau

          End of Story Reached