Conventional wisdom holds that country and western singers are all red state, God fearin’, gun-lovin’ good ol’ boys (and girls). But as George and Ira Gershwin would have told you, it ain’t necessarily so. Remember the Dixie Chicks? Now comes Oklahoma boy and former oilfield worker Toby Keith. A newly opened Woodbridge, Virginia restaurant that sports his name is drawing all kinds of attention for it’s prominently-posted no firearms policy. And, as you can see above, Moms Demanding Illegal Mayoral Action are all over it like a hobo on a ham sandwich . . .
After Keith’s fans directed a withering shower of opprobrium toward the disarmed-customers-only policy, the restaurant posted this message on its Facebook page:
While we understand and respect every person’s right to own and bear arms, we at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill, with guidance from the State of Virginia and based on insurance regulations, have adopted a no weapons policy. It is our desire to provided a safe, enjoyable and entertaining experience for our patrons and staff.
According to time.com, Keith doesn’t even have an ownership interest in the greasy spoon. He just sold the operators his name. So there’s no way to know what his stance on guns is. He could be the gun-friendliest guy in Nashville for all we know. But given the blowback he’s getting from the people who buy his records and concert tickets, we’d guess he’ll be asking his business managers to do a little more due diligence in future transactions.