Wayne Pesce
President
Connecticut Food Association
433 South Main Street, Suite 309
West Hartford, CT 06100
Dear Mr. Pesce:
We write today to urge you to adopt a policy that would prohibit the open carry of firearms in your member stores. In doing so, you would be sending an important message about your commitment to the safety of your employees and customers. This would follow similar actions by many food retailers, such as Chipotle, Sonic, Chili’s, Target, Panera Bread, Starbucks and Whole Foods . . .
Although Connecticut law allows for open carry, supermarkets, food retailers, and other private establishments have the legal authority to ban firearms from their premises.
There is simply no reason someone would need to bring their gun with them in order to purchase milk, bread, or other necessities at a grocery store. Customers should feel safe while shopping, and employees should not be fearful while doing their jobs.
You have the opportunity to take a strong stance in support of creating a safe, welcoming environment in Connecticut’s food retailers.
Again, we urge you to implement a new policy that would prevent the open carry of guns in your member stores. Thank you in advance for your consideration, and we look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Sen. Christopher S. Murphy
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Rep. Elizabeth H. Esty
[h/t Pascal]
Sen. Christopher S. Murphy
Sen. Richard Blumenthal
Rep. Elizabeth H. Esty
When elective representives petition private business to infringe on lawful citizens ability to protect themselves it’s time to send them to the unemployment line.
I would prefer a firing squad for sedition.
in all honesty, both would be effective. I aint picky, they can flip for it if they dont like the options.
+1
Sen. Murphy the same idiot who was bawing about what he perceived as global martial law…I guess he thinks there are black helicopters flying around his house too LOL…
Murphy, Blumenthal and that gangster Malloy are the true Axis of Evil.
Yes they are. And they never quit.
I wonder if this nonstop anti-gun BS is some kind of diversion. CT is circling the drain economically. Taxes are so bad here that GE is moving to Massachusetts. I guess that makes CT #1 liberal hell-hole, on the east coast anyway.
The taxes are awful. We have the third highest total tax burden in the US, and we’re still circling the drain. It’s not just the taxes though, it’s that they change the rules literally every year. Don’t forget this is the administration that passed a tax hike in June, that took effect in August, that was RETROACTIVE to January 1. People all over the state looked at their paychecks and got literally nothing for weeks (or had to go to their employer and tell them to stop auto-deducting) because of the D’s idiocy. All to have Malloy run his mouth all year telling everyone we didn’t have a deficit, then WOOPS!, actually we are 500 million in the hole, and by the way next year it could be as bad as 1.8 billion in the hole. People forget that while we have had plenty of Republican governors, both houses of the legislature have been Democrat controlled since 1996.
I won’t be sad to have this place in the rearview mirror. Don’t want to be around when the music stops, it’s not going to be pretty.
The gun control push is part diversion part fear. US government spending and debt is spiraling out of control. Almost 100 million Americans are unable to find a job that would support even a mediocre standard of living. The government has two options. Take the boot off the throat of American entrepreneurs and downsize the bureaucracy. Or seize more of the country’s wealth in a bid to universalize poverty, when everybody’s broke, nobody’s poor. I think we all know which option the government is in the process of choosing, and they know its going to create anger and consequences. Obamacare was designed to get citizens used to the idea of giving up income for the illusion of greater security and societal good. The bureaucrats actually thought that Americans would quietly obey the wealth transfer without fanfare, now they realize they were wrong. The government would like to start making examples of rebels and scofflaws among the citizenry, but they’re hesitant for a reason, the sheep are armed to the teeth.
Mike said: “Obamacare was designed to get citizens used to the idea of giving up income for the illusion of greater security and societal good.”
Yes, that is the new Progressive meme that has been circulating, “give up your dreams of wealth”. Noah Smith of BLOOMBERG http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-29/economic-growth-isn-t-everything:
“But growth isn’t the same thing as life satisfaction.”
“The second reason I think we’re too willing to believe Gordon is that technology isn’t the only thing that makes society better. The quality of government matters too.”
“Libertarians often portray the state as a parasite, but there is a good argument that big government — and, more importantly, good government — was responsible for a significant amount of the growth in developed nations between 1870 and 1970.”
“We should remember that growth isn’t the same thing as improvement in life satisfaction; the former is actually a lot easier than the latter. And we should consider the possibility that government quality, as much as technology, is what has stopped improving.”
Did any of the businesses mentioned actually ban anything, or did they just ask us not to carry to please MDA?
As far as I know, none of them actually “prohibits” firearms, with the possible exception of Panera (I really don’t remember in their case). But then, if gun-grabbers didn’t have misleading innuendo, they would only have their lies. BTW, for some reason this really gets under my skin–and I don’t even live in Connecticut. The idea of elected officials trying to use the weight of their offices to bully private individuals into adopting policies that the officials don’t have the political firepower to enact into law is just really distasteful. It ought to be illegal.
I’m not familiar with CT laws, but Whole Foods does post the proper signs (30.06) to prohibit lawful concealed carry in TX. The rest, I believe, just politely ask that you not bring them in the store but don’t bother posting anything legally binding.
Starbucks asks politely to not bring handguns into their stores, I politely keep mine concealed!
Personally, I’d politely refuse to give the jerks any of my money.
I could at least see a request to not open carry, if a business owner is afraid you’ll scare off the muggles. I wouldn’t agree his concern has any basis in fact (at least, not outside of an area full of hoplophobes (*cough* the PRK *cough*), but at least one can have that concern out of an honest mistake rather than necessarily being anti to the core. But no such consideration can exist if they oppose all carry, which makes them hoplophobic dickweeds.
Yeah, I think I saw at least one of the notices at HEB yesterday, never noticed before. Not sure, though, I was just passing by the door with my bride as we went to shop, both of us armed. What makes these fools think anybody is listening?
I’m sorry. Esty is even my Rep.
Nothing I can do about it, they only let me vote once.
Just register as a democrat, tell ’em that you’re a convicted dead felon & illegal alien; they’ll let you vote at least four times.
Lol Nice, I literally laughed out loud.
Actually, that wouldn’t work, since they’d insist on helping you vote…being concerned for the differently abled, and all that.
But it was a funny line.
“There is simply no reason someone would need to bring their gun with them in order to purchase milk, bread, or other necessities at a grocery store.”
There they go with that “nobody needs” crap. I’m sorry, but it’s a right. I don’t have to justify my method of self defense to people who most likely live in gated communities or in special areas of CT that are extremely low crime and extra police patrols.
Anti’s have no response to no one should be murdered or robbed by criminals while buying groceries.
Even behind their comfy home security systems, guards, etc. the anti politicians believe you have the right to apply for a permit that is reviewed by a government official to buy a gun, the right to appeal the decision the government official makes by writing a letter to another government official who reviews the decision in his cubicle in a governmental building and all of these letters get sent by government mail which you pay for.
You never really have the right to own a firearm or, God forbid, firearms for whatever reason you would want to own more than one of these highly dangerous things, but you do have the right to try to own one by going through the approved official government channels.
That’s the mind of an anti on how gun sales should work.
You forgot to mention the income stream such officials enjoy from such applications.
And again with the “feel safe” BS. I feel perfectly safe when I have my 1911 on my hip, and if people around me don’t, then they should put one on their hip instead of bitching about mine.
Like no one has ever been shot in a gun free zone, in Connecticut.
What about supermarket parking lots? Seems that would be an especially good reason to carry when you’re picking up eggs and milk. I hear muggings are up in that area……….
This would follow similar actions by many food retailers, such as Chipotle, Sonic,
All of the Sonics I know of are drive in restaurants. Am I missing something?
Are they going to search my car?
They do have tables for walk-up customers at most locations, but I really doubt any employee is going to walk up to you and ask you to leave if they happen to see your pistol or if you are open carrying. Could happen, some people are nuts.
Basic rule of thumb – if an employee or manager is willing to walk up to a person open carrying a pistol and ask them to leave, are they really afraid of that person and/or his gun?
They do have tables for walk-up customers at most locations, which are infrequently used.
They put the overhangs lower so that you’ll clip a pintle-mounted belt-fed “rifle” if you try to pull in with one, hence “gun-free zone.”
So who spilled the beans on the anti-freedom terrorists? Did they do it themselves to try to use economic terrorism to force Mr. Pesce to yield to their demands.
This is just noise so that they can have PR that makes the news cycle so people do not forget about them. They are Senators at the federal level screwing around at the state level.
If you look at their records in the U.S. Senate, they are beyond useless.
I hope that everybody here keeps in mind for the next 9 months or so that we are in an election year and the Liberal/Progressive/Democrats have decided that being virulently anti-gun is a vote getter in the low-information voter community (and pseudo-intellectual community as well) that makes up their demographic and they will be pounding this drum until the elections are over. This is election year grandstanding, pure and simple. I hope they choke on it.
It isn’t so much in the store, as the walk through the parking lot too the store and back.
It’s like the predators waiting at the water hole in rhe desert for the herd animal to approach.
How does prohibiting open carry — while still allowing concealed carry — possibly do anything to improve the safety of employees?!?!?!?
E . p . i . c . . . F . a . i . l . . . ! ! ! ! !
Sounds like they are asking for a prohibition on firearms, period. I know they start out talking about open carry, but they ask the association to ban firearms, not just open-carried firearms. Didn’t realize they were US Congress members, thought they were state–makes it even worse
These letters are so pathetic when the crybabies send them out.
If I owned one of those places, my response would be to announce a bonus to all employees who open carried on the job — with a copy of the announcement to the asshats who tried bullying me.
Why are the Caraluzzi’s being singled out via the photo? They were my hometown supermarket growing up in Bethel and in the time that I worked for them I never picked a particularly antigun vibe. Tony Sr., the founder of the company, told me personally, about how he moved to Western Ct in the early 1950’s after a horrific robbery connected to his job in the custom grocery business down in NYC.
If I were the Connecticut Food Association, I would reply back.
To the Senate of the Connecticut State Legislature,
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND START OBEYING THE CONSTITUTION.
These are Connecticut’s two US senators and a US Reprehensible (typo deliberate).
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/10/11/police-concealed-permit-holder-shoots-kills-armed-robber-connecticut-cafe/
“According to NBC Connecticut, police spoke with witnesses who said “the would-be robber had come into the cafe wielding a gun and tried to steal from the business and the customers.” A patron who was “carrying a legally registered handgun confronted the suspect and fired his gun at least once, fatally shooting the man.”
What was that about not needing a gun and ‘feeling safe’?
They missed a few buzzwords and talking points in that letter…..
They got the ‘no one needs a gun to _____’ but they missed the small penis or gun as extension of penis talking point.
The go the ‘others should feel safe’ but they missed the ‘if you are too afraid to leave the house without a gun…’ talking point.
Other than those two glaring shortcomings, it is a very nice letter and I am sure it was printed on some very nice paper. I do hope someone in the area reports back on which stores actually put up some kind of no-guns signs so the rest of us can boycott.
Of course it was printed on nice paper, you are paying for it!
There is simply no reason someone would need to bring their gun with them in order to purchase milk, bread, or other necessities at a grocery store.
The courts have ruled the cops have no duty to protect the citizens.
Customers should feel safe while shopping, which will provide a false sense of security as criminals usually do not open carry.
If they did this under the guise of their official capacity, how is it any different from campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime?
Ah Connecticut…. the Democrat run, one party rules liberal bastion of New England… Connecticut’s economy is in the toilet. The Democats raided the Transportation fund to build the busway between New Britain and Hartford that sees very little use. If you think it is bad in CT now wait until the end of the fiscal year. The legislature has to reconvene to try and close the “budget gap”….taxes and/or fees will definitely be raised..all of it will be for nothing as they will not stop the wreckless spending. Connecticut is on course for a huge financial loss with the present gas prices being so low. These idiots in Hartford have based a budget expecting the revenues to stay steady even when the price of gas has dropped, CT has a Gross Receipts Tax and it will be taking a huge hit and no one is saying anything about it…if you live in CT expect to pay more for less courtesy of the Democrat controlled legislature..
they will not stop the wreckless spending
Fortuitous typo of the day! I guarantee you that there WILL be a train wreck if they DON”T stop the reckless spending.
Thanks for pointing that out Captain Obvious :>) Sarcasm
Connecticut’s petroleum taxes are largely flat, not percentage based, so tax revenues from gasoline should probably go UP with lower gas prices.
But on the larger issue, that our state needs to be FAR more welcoming to business and far less prone to spending its way out of minor problems and into major ones, you are completely correct.
Open carry is obviously so much of a problem here in CT that is why we hear about violent open carriers scaring the wits out of people every day on the news. Oh wait…
Obviously Murphy, Esty, and Blumenthal have nothing more important to do.
Misdirection to distract us from the real problems the state faces; leaving companies, deficit, sorry state of infrastructure, and ass backwards unions and interest groups bleeding the state dry.
I have been carrying concealed for 30 plus years in CT. I have never seen anyone open carry a handgun publicly. To do so, only attracts concerns, and law biding Concealed carry permit holders keep their weapons concealed, although law provides for open carry. Trying to ban firearms in public establishments by using open carry as the excuse, is a sideways action to keep law biding citizens from their constitutional rights. By the way, God forbid some non law biding citizen engages in gun violence, I would not consider having milk and butter as the weapon of choice. Carrying for personal protection is a choice responsible law biding citizens choose. Politicians need to address the real problems and not interpret the law inappropriately.
George, take a look at your permit. My connecticut permit says “permit to carry pistols and revolvers”. The word concealed is nowhere on your card. I choose to not open carry for obvious reasons and I do not spend my money at establishments that tell me what to do.
First I don’t go to business that have posted or ask people not to have concealed carry in the business. Second I will do everything I can to get the Politician replaced by a more liberal person that does not have a problem guns.
Lastly I will post on Facebook the names of all the business that have problems with guns in any way, shape, or form so that we can stop spending our money in their ungrateful business. I know its not much but every little bite helps.