Friday, June 5, 2009

Welcome!

The purpose of this blog is simple: we are creating a list of restaurants in Tennessee that prohibits weapons on their premises for anyone not in law enforcement. I believe, as the majority of Tennesseans do, that no one should carry a gun into a restaurant or bar unless one is a member of law enforcement.

We are going to assemble this list from around the state, divided into regions. If a restaurant wishes to be on this list, here's what I need from you:

A) Name of the restaurant
B) Complete street address with city and Zip (so I can link to a Yahoo Map of your location)
C) THIS IS IMPORTANT - a PICTURE of your sign on your establishment.

This is going to be a resource for all Tennesseans (and those traveling into Tennessee) so they can go to a place where it is less likely that tragedy will occur.

Again, Welcome!

19 comments:

  1. I firmly believe in the rights of the restaurant to prohibit whatever they want--it's private property. I'm just not sure that signs like this make a restaurant safer, per se. Is there evidence that having people who obey restaurant signs leave their guns at home makes a restaurant safer?

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  2. Steve,

    I would love to help out with this project. People need to be made aware of the dangers of guns and alcohol being together. The best thing we can do is show how 40 other states with laws such as the ones just passed in Tennessee have hundreds upon thousands of shootouts each week in Chili's and Pizza Huts.

    Did you know in Florida, where I live, people are allowed to not only bring their firearms into Ruby Tuesday's, but are also allowed to consume alcohol while doing so? I can't seem to find any stories of drunken shootouts, but with all the hue and cry from you guys, I must be missing out on thousands of stories.

    I mean, there's a slim possibility that you're getting your panties in a wad over nothing and that your fear of people becoming self reliant on their own security is clouding your ability to look at facts, but I doubt that.

    Like I said, compile a large list of this being a problem in other places that allow it and maybe you can get people to take you seriously. Until then, you're just claiming the sky is falling.

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  3. Unless these "safe" resturants are going to install metal detectors, hire security to search every single person who enters, then the mere posting of a "No Firearms Allowed" sign is just wishful thinking. I am sure criminals will do what they have always done, walking right past the sign. At least the criminals now will know that more than likely everyone present will have been disarmed for their safety.

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  4. A list of places where people are sure to be disarmed and helpless is the perfect list for an armed robber who doesn't want his tragic plans to be interrupted in any way - welcome to California!

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  5. Yes, the gun FETISHISTS are out in force. If that's the way you feel, then look upon this as a list of restaurants to avoid, while the vast majority of Tennesseans look for these safe places to eat.

    Win-win, wouldn't you say?

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  6. Thanks for this site - it's a great resource for people like me who refuse to patronize any establishment actively denying me my civil rights.

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  7. If that's the way you feel, then look upon this as a list of restaurants to avoid,

    That's my plan. I don't live in TN so it's handy to have a list like this when I'm in the area.

    Thanks for the hard work!

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  8. You list probably won't have its intended effect. In any event, why aren't you calling your site "safebarstennessee"? It's all about the "bars", right? Isn't that what Bredesen and the Tennessean have been telling us? It's on not about eating breadsticks; it's about alcohol, or so they have been telling us.

    Not surprisingly, your one posted picture does not appear to meet the statutory requirements for an effective posting.

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  9. A list of places where people are sure to be disarmed and helpless is the perfect list for an armed robber who doesn't want his tragic plans to be interrupted in any way

    I can't seem to find any stories of drunken shootouts, but with all the hue and cry from you guys, I must be missing out on thousands of stories.

    So, conversely, since guns in Tennessee restaurants are currently illegal, where are the thousands of news stories I'm missing of armed villains preying on the unarmed masses in line for a seat at P.F. Chang's?

    Next year I hope the legislature finally addresses that horrible potential alien invasion we've all been worried about since the War of the Worlds broadcast.

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  10. Steve, fetishes aside (I'm partial to high heels, furry hats and this whole lack of pants things), a list of restaurant shootings that involve CCW holders getting liquored up and shooting everyone would probably go a long way towards proving your point. If I'm not mistaken it's 37 states that allow it, so you should have REAMS of documentation to back up your claim that banning firearms in restaurants that serve booze is dangerous.

    Why hasn't anyone who is opposed to this new law been able to do that simple thing. Hell, while I can provide links to THOUSANDS of self defense stories involving firearms (http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html), I won't ask as much from you. A simple dozen or so from the past year should suffice. Really, it shouldn't be a problem if, as you state, guns in restaurants that serve alcohol is really a problem.

    Now, would you frequent a restaurant with your family if somebody was standing outside with a large sign that read "Dear Criminals. This establishment has banned firearms from its premise. You are assured that every person in here is disarmed."? Because that's the safety you claim you are receiving.

    Personally, I'm glad I live in Florida. I can have a beer while packing, and oddly we don't have an issue with this. Rational people see this and understand that the fears were unfounded, hence why "Shall Issue" states keep popping up and concealed carry is becoming the norm. Irrational people pretend that a sign is all that is needed to magically keep out the criminal element.

    Why not just make it a law that it's illegal to shoot someone. Wouldn't that take care of things?

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  11. Shane, why don't you look at that link I sent you, and that's just *reported* self defense scenarios. As someone who has defended his own life with a firearm, I can assure you not all of us call the cops afterward and tell them nothing happened.

    Now, using your logic, I'll even agree for the sake of argument. I'll say there is no benefit to CCW in restaurants if you'll agree there is no harm in it as well.

    If there is no harm, regardless of the benefit, why bother making it illegal? Since it's a wash, there is no need to step on people's right to self defense using the most effective tools at their disposal.

    I've got plenty of links to violence, and plenty to self defense. You have none to show that guns in restaurants that serve alcohol is a problem.

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  12. Despite our, "No Guns In Bars, Restaurants or Anywhere" laws, restaurant robberies are popular here in the Bay Area. The entire civilian population of the Bay Area (apart from some celebrities and politicians) is disarmed - except for those Gangbangers and crackheads who haven't heard it's illegal and go around shooting people. Concealed carry permits are simply not given out to anybody for any reason - unless your name is Feinstein or Pelosi.

    Last year Oakland was good for about an armed robbery each week (but it's illegal!) in April, and sometimes two on the weekend! It's an easy Google search but a topic you won't ever hear on your local news. There were six in April of '08, and finally an arrest was made in January of two suspects who were earlier involved in possibly eleven armed restaurant robberies - one of the suspects had a one-way ticket to fly to Miami. Sorta like driving off the Interstate to commit a robbery, only in reverse! Coming to a City near you! :-) Then there were a few more in August '08.

    Things have quieted down a lot lately since that guy illegally shot and killed four Officers last fall, and since the New Year's BART shooting.

    I'm afraid the alien invasion you should fear comes from the West Coast - just wait 'till Obama bails us out of our financial overspending disaster and you're paying our taxes too!

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  13. Rick, Steve, and GoldnI, I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for doing this. As someone who is a proud defender of everyone's civil rights, this list will be undoubtedly be a useful resource indicating which restaurants do respect our individual rights, and which restaurants do not. And as a proponent for everyone's rights and freedoms, I certainly would not want to financially support an organization with no respect for us as citizens.

    Thanks again for your efforts, and best of luck with it.

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  14. Awesome idea, but don't stop there! Add the names of ALL businesses that have the 'No Guns' signs. It has worked well here in Ohio as the boycott on these places have caused them to re-think their policies. Restaurants are next ...

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  15. Since these restaurants will not allow us to choose for ourselves the method of our own defense, I suppose that means that they can be held liable for any harm that comes to us from criminals while patronizing their establishments, right? I bet the lawyers will be lining up to defend these restaurants, right? Of course, with those signs out front advertising the fact that criminals can rob, plunder and pillage at will, without fear of armed resisitence, there won't be much defense, will there?

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  16. As Rustmeister said thanks for the list of anti civil rights businesses. It will be helpful next year when I come down for a motorcycle tour of TN and GA.
    I don't patronize anti gun restaurants and businesses here in MN and WI, can't see any reason to change while on a vacation.

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  17. Steve:

    Having areas where permit holders can't carry for arbitrary reasons makes no sense. I could legally carry on the street outside, but I could not legally carry inside my favorite restaurant while sipping my green tea? How does that make a lick of sense?

    Of course, if you are fundamentally opposed to citizens having access to effective defensive tools, having as many arbitrary restrictions as possible makes perfect sense. Just remember this: the deeper you stick your head in the sand, the easier it is for someone to kick your butt.

    I applaud your current list-making effort. Please keep it up. Your list will tell me which restaurants not to bother with.

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  18. Thanks! As a Tennessean and a carry-permit holder, I've wondered from which restaurants to withhold my business. This will be useful.

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  19. LOL, I bet this isn't going as well as you expected.

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