Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 10:39:25 -0500 (EST)
From: [r--l] at [on-ramp.ior.com] (Rob Lowry)
Subject: Re: Favorable Media: _Dangerous Minds_

>"Ms. J. slides out of bed, drops to the floor, opens a dresser drawer and
pulls 
>out what looked like in the poor contrast on my TV (thank you TCI :-) a
Beretta 
>92, racks the slide, and takes up a defensive position at the door.
>Did someone slip a controlled substance into my coffee, or is this a
favorable, 
>or at least a neutral, depiction of firearms for self-defense?


I would count this as favorable, as it shows a firearm kept ready for self
defense, and as in many cases, not actually being fired.

On a down side, a personal experience last night has me both pissed and
chuckling at the same time. Was at the grocery store last night, doing last
minute Thanksgiving shopping. The store was pretty packed, and fairly warm..
so I took off my heavy denim and 'simulated wool' jacket.. not thinking that
my Sig P230 was tucked in the small of my back. About 15 minutes passed and
the store manager approached me and asked if that was a weapon I had.
Politely, I answered yes, and began to prepare to go head to head..
however he surprised me by saying stuff like "I'm sure you have a permit for
that, right? (He did not ask to see it, a plus..) and he explained that a
female customer had complained about its visibility. She felt it was
inappropriate, and wanted me removed.. but the manager told her that the
store has no policy against arms, and that as long as it is legal for me to
carry, he would not interfere.

Another revelation from the manager was the fact that he knows some of his
employees have firearms and carry when not at work.. and to quote him "I
don't know if they carry at work, and I don't ask.."

In the end, he asked if I would just pull my shirt out a bit to hide it
better, and thanked me for shopping at their store. After he wandered off,
my 5yr old daughter asked me why he was worried about my gun, and why some
lady was scared of it?

Another customer nearby looked our way and started to smile as I told my
daughter that I didn't know why someone was scared of it, and tried to
explain that some people don't like guns, etc. 
As a finisher, my daughter, looking up with her big blue eyes, said in that
little girl voice "Don't they want you to protect us?"
You could have knocked the nearby customer over with a feather, heck, you
could have knocked me over at that point..

Kids, gotta love 'em.. they cut straight to the truth, and call it as it is..

BTW: Happy Holidays to all :)

RobL
-----
Rob Lowry - Toad - Tech Support Engineer at Internet OnRamp
"Ya know its a good sausage when it starts loosing juice as
it cooks.. know what I mean?" -Overheard at family (embarassed)BBQ