About the guy who walked into JC Penney's with an AR-15 (UPDATED)
On Saturday, January 18, 2013 I posted my opinion about the "open carry" of assault weapons in public places like JC Penney's. (Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022218233) I received some great positive feedback (thank you!), but a righteous rant on DU didn't feel like "doing enough" about such an important issue, so last week I called JC Penney's to ask them to change their policy about allowing "open carry assault rifles" in their store. The customer service representative was appropriately horrified, and promised a call back within 48 hours.
That was a week ago. I haven't heard from them. I called back today, got put on hold for a while, and then was told I should write an email because no one would call me back about this issue.
Okay then - I went to "change.org" and have started a petition. If this is a position you can support, I would very much appreciate it if you would sign it, and help spread the word. (I modified my original post a little bit for the petition.)
PETITION LINK: https://www.change.org/petitions/jc-penney-company-inc-please-post-signs-banning-open-carry-guns-in-jc-penney-stores?utm_campaign=share_button_action_box&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition
JC Penney Company, Inc.: Please post signs banning "open carry" guns in JC Penney stores.
Several weeks ago a news story with pictures made the headlines when a 22-year old man was "shopping" at a JC Penney store in Utah with an AR-15 strapped to his back. (Link to story: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=23769604)
Apparently he was doing it because he could and it was legal and he wanted to "educate" people.
It has been bothering me to the point of nightmares.
I am the mother of five year old boy/girl twins, and the Newtown massacre - well, I am NOT over it.
It is my job as a parent to teach my children how to behave, and I don't just mean "manners" - I teach them how to behave around potentially dangerous situations - "Don't touch a hot stove!" - and what to do if they are lost, or the house is on fire, or a tornado is coming.
And now I also have to teach them how to behave around gun wielding lunatics, because it is becoming a societal "norm" that they may have to face.
I am not happy about this, but it is now a necessity. Maybe it should have been before - the Batman massacre really started the discussion for my husband and I - but after Newtown, it is obviously not optional anymore.
We don't have guns in our house. My father had guns - a couple of hunting rifles and a pistol at one point when his work with law enforcement caused him to be threatened (he wasn't law enforcement, but he helped put bad guys in jail, and they didn't like it) - but they were kept put away, out of sight. I am not a "hunter" person, so other than sixth grade "hunter safety", guns are not a part of my life, AND I LIKE IT THAT WAY.
Guns are tools. I get that. Hunting rifles are used to hunt - so why was this fool bringing one into a JC Penney store?
My immediate response would have to be "To Hunt."
I cannot tell the difference between a random madman armed with assault weapons and an idiot trying to make a moronic point that BY LAW he is entitled to behave like a fool by bringing (charitably) a "HUNTING RIFLE" into a place where the only "GAME" is human beings.
For safety's sake, I would immediately flee the scene, urging everyone else to do the same, but making sure my children are safe first and foremost.
I don't care if it could be considered an over reaction by this fool and his friends. I don't have super secret telepathic powers that enable me to discern "MURDEROUS MAN ABOUT TO GO ON A RAMPAGE" versus "FREAKING MORON WITH BAD JUDGMENT TRYING TO MAKE A STUPID POINT."
He is a man openly carrying a "hunting rifle" where the only available targets are PEOPLE.
Stoves are hot. Tornado sirens mean seek shelter. Guns are dangerous tools; if you see one where it doesn't belong, get away!
I love my children. That man needs his guns taken away, and if the law can't do it, I hope his family takes care of the problem.
If they don't, there is a good chance the man is going to end up shot.
I don't carry a gun, but the next "non-telepathic parent" he encounters might, and I don't want my family anywhere near an unnecessary and completely foreseeable "firefight."
In the meantime, I am starting this petition to ask JC Penney to join other sensible retailers across the nation to ban "open carry" guns in their stores so that my children and I can shop safely without being endangered by irresponsible gun owners who don't understand that hunting rifles don't belong in retail establishments and/or the potential firefight between them and an armed "non-telepathic" person trying to play the hero.
Thank you in advance, everybody.
= new reply since forum marked as read
If they don't get at least one hundred signatures, it does nothing. 
It means a lot to me!
I also went to JCPenney's facebook page and posted my thoughts right after the picture went viral. It got quite a bit of attention. 
I believe it meant "educate people that he had a right to carry assault rifles anywhere he wanted."
That is an assumption, though.
Back! 
I have been signing petitions with them for a while - blessed be the spam filter!
Perhaps, if you can't sign the petition, you might be willing to drop a letter in the mail? I included the address as part of the petition information....
Please?
I don't know any other way to get the "rules" changed except letting the management team *know* there are unhappy people.
And please keep me updated on what you find!
maybe it is a store/regional thing, but I don't recall seeing armed security at our local store.
Your petition is eloquent and poignant. I signed it immediately.
It means a lot to me.
I know this probably sounds stupid, but I don't want to ever have to face the parents of Sandy Hook and NOT have done *something* to save them even a second of future trauma. And if *I* can't handle seeing an AR-15 in JC Penney's, I can't even think what it might mean to them!
Photos were not allowed. I graciously put away the camera.
It seems ridiculously ironic to me that a moron can take a deadly weapon into a store environment, but cameras are outlawed.
to post about some study showing that cameras kill more people than guns
And cameras - THOSE are an issue!
Drives a sensible person 
!
What could possibly go wrong?
I should be getting an email telling me what happens next....
I can't believe we got there so quickly! I love DU!
I really appreciate the support! Newtown -
thanks for the initiative...
Frankly.
Okay. ..your name's not Frank....
I signed! 
Please let me know if it gets "shared" by others - I am curious!
I don't know why a petition even had to be started, but apparently "common sense" costs more than a "penney" - get it?
I crack myself up! 
out of a topic that's hard to get a laugh out of 
thanks. Sometimes you laugh to keep from crying.
Here's another -- 
me
"When I go shopping, I don't wanna be a Target."
Maybe we should come up with a bunch of these and send them to major retailers. They seem awfully stupid about this.
I wonder if they've ever done any surveys to see how many people feel afraid of violence in their stores and parking lots.
"In Home Depot I ONLY want to see staple guns."
Etc etc
Good work!
DU is being fantastic. I am still stunned we made it over a hundred!
sure they are outnumbered by SANE people!
Signed with a note that I will not shop in JC Penny until they establish and enforce a policy of no firearms in their stores. Been a busy month, pledging to not shop at Whole Foods since they have cut workers hours to avoid providing health insurance. And now, JC Penny.
Concealed carry people have to go through background checks and training. I won't lie and say I am happy about it, but I don't see the average concealed carry person as the same threat level as the guy who can fire off 30 bullets in a matter of seconds.
Plus, if I can't *see* the problem, I can't treat them *differently* than any other shopper, and I would not expect my children to be hustled out of the store because they are shopping there, too.
Also, JC Penney's can make the decision to ban "all guns" or just the ones they see; if they are sensible, they will put up a sign banning "all guns" and the *discrete* concealed carry person will never be an issue, but if someone *is* a problem, then JC Penney can sue them for violating store policy.
That is what I would do, if I were JC Penney.
ON EDIT: But at this point in time, I am simply asking for "open carry" to be banned in their stores. This is all part of a bigger discussion, and this is a stance I feel is *very* reasonable/I am *NOT* willing to budge on - No Open Carry in Retail Establishments.
Taking the time to set it up & alert the rest of us!!
Take care.
This is great!! I'm getting the real names of DUmmies in order to compile more dossiers. What I do with their private information is my business.
Jim Neighbors WEAVERVEGAS, NC about 1 hour ago Liked 1
I am scared of my own shadow and other things I don't fully understand. Freedom is for those too weak not to let the gov't see after your every need. I'm a liberal.
Does he think I give a flying fuk if he knows I signed a petition. Hm-mm not to neighborly.
edited to add: I live in North Carolina, maybe I should drop him a line and invite him for a beer.
He shouldn't be too hard to find.
They also have a facebook page, sooo MR Neighbors I think I will post on it inviting you out for a shot of moonshine and a beer.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Weaver-Vegas
They really are pathetic.
Jim Neighbors WEAVERVEGAS, NC about 3 hours ago Like 0
That's it!! either JCP changes their policy of Ida's kids get it right between the eyes.
And they wonder why Not Crazy people think they are NUTS!
