TGO David

Did you run your idea of boycotting all restaurants that serve alcohol past him? I'm surprised he didn't rush to turn that into legislation also.

Well then this conversation isn't going to be very productive, is it?

I think you need to go sign up on TFA's web site and annoy them with this tactic. I'm not going to let it run much further here.

We've been doing it manually for a few weeks to control some of the spammers and problematic former members from trying to sign up. I usually check it once or twice a day during the week... once a day on the weekends.

Good. Besides posting about it on the Internet, what are you doing to turn the tide?

Know who from TGO went out of their way to attend the hearing earlier in the year? Me, Daniel, Fallguy, Nikki Goeser... maybe one or two others that I personally did not see who may have been in the satellite room. Not many.

Cleaning house... mop, bucket, j-frame in my pocket and Glock 19 on the table nearby. You can never be too trusting of dust bunnies. They can attack at a moment's notice.

So you wanted... what exactly? If a restaurant chose not to post, they supported you. Wish granted! If you were expecting them to hang a big banner across the front of the restaurant that said "GUNS WELCOME HERE!" you had unrealistic expectations. I admit, it would have been nice but it'd be nice if I had a million dollars in my bank account right now too. Since I don't, I work with what I have and am glad that I have it. Same should have been said in the situation of being able to eat at a restaurant that chose not to post.

The most effective way of fighting fire with fire is to do it at the voting booth. If you figure out a way to get people to put their money where their mouth is inside the voting booth, and to motivate their friends to do the same, I'll be your biggest fan. Do you really think we'd be having this discussion if Tennesseans were motivated enough to fire some of these liberal activist judges and other politicians??? Sadly the majority of people are pissed off about a subject for only as long as it takes them to get pissed off about the next thing, after which time they've forgotten all about the previous incident or issue.

I think you're seriously expecting way too much. How about the reward being that you're able to carry for your protection and that of your family while you dine, without being hassled ... or thrown in jail. That's all the reward I need, but apparently you were put off that none of these restaurants rolled out the red carpet for you as a HCP holder. I don't feel like I'm special because I carry. I don't expect anyone else to treat me that way either. That's probably part of the reason why I work hard to keep it concealed.

Several of us got together a few weekends ago to run through the AIS PriSim simulator and you guys are going to love it. It's easily one of the most realistic forms of "use of force" simulation that I've ever experienced. The thing actually shoots back at you using 68 caliber kevlar reinforced polymer balls. It definitely teaches you to get the hell off the kill zone and to use cover effectively.

Confucius say, "No way man with three balls can run to first base" ??

We have embarked on a radio advertising campaign with the Steve Gill show and just received copies of our commercials. They start airing tomorrow morning on 1510AM WLAC and Steve will be plugging the show along the way and then come out on Saturday, December 12th to do a meet & greet with folks at the Expo. He will not be broadcasting live from the Expo. Anyway, take a listen to the radio spots and tell us what you think. Radio Spot #1 Radio Spot #2 Radio Spot #3 Anyone who wants to help spread the word about the show to their friends can refer them to the website at www.GunsAndGearExpo.com or you can even print out one of our flyers and give it to them. 2009 Expo Flyer We have limited vendor booth space remaining, so we're still taking applications for that as well.

Regarding 20% off specials for carry permit holders... Do you think restaurants did that for black people when segregation ended? 20% off your meal if you can show us that you're less than 51% Caucasian! Come on, really. Let's stick to the realm of reality here.

Not to steer the subject off topic, but that's way too much oil on that Glock in the first picture unless it's the flash and lighting playing tricks. It looks like you've even oiled the extractor for some reason?

Funny, but it's a personal attack and as a moderator you should know that's against the rules.

We tried to get CCR to come out and join us at the Expo next month to show off some of their products. Figured it'd be a good way for people to see before they buy. Seems that they are too busy... which I guess is a good problem to have. Some of you loyal customers should bug them about it.

Is this Attorney General, who you now report sent a very sound 35 page brief supporting the constitutionality of the law, the same Attorney General that you had a stiff "F--- YOU!" for not even 72hrs ago when you accused him of simply sending a lackey to the hearing earlier in the year? I only ask because you have a bit of a tendency to go off half-cocked about this stuff. Need I remind you of the statements you made earlier in the year about how we needed to agree to various concessions to get the law passed, and then later told me that I was right and we really should have toed the line as we did? It is clear that you are passionate about this issue. There is nothing wrong with passion except that it swings wildly from extreme to extreme, rarely settling in the middle. If you could just harness some of that passion and temper it with rational thought... you'd be a force to be reckoned with. Just food for thought on a dreary Sunday morning.

That's absurd. I don't want to assume that you're implying something you're not, so I am just going to say that the way I read this sounds like it could be suggesting dirty pool. Please tell me I'm wrong.

How are you going to boycott a waitress or a server or a busboy at a restaurant? Chances are they all work for Randy Rayburn anyway, so just don't eat at any of the places that he owns.

A much more noble cause.

If you really believe that this is the way to achieve a clean victory, then I feel sorry for you. But if you want to pursue it, you do not need my blessing to take it somewhere else and run it out as far as you can. It just isn't going to happen here where it can do nothing but damage the integrity of this forum. Think for a moment: There are curent 5,677 other members of this forum beside you. Only a handful have voiced their support for your idea that every single alcohol-serving eating establishment should be blacklisted. Using your logic, the other 5,650-ish members are tacitly against your proposal. Are they all off their rocker, or are you?

It seems to me that there is an easy fix to this mess... 1. Define what constitutes an establishment being a "bar". There presently is no such thing in Tennessee, per law. 2. Make it so that firearms may not legally be carried inside of a "bar" by a HCP holder. 3. Remove any ability for a restaurant to prohibit carry. This alleviates the restaurant owner's concerns of being made liable because they did not choose to post. If you don't have the option, you cannot be liable for it. This works great in Kentucky and similar states.

I don't know either. From what I recall of the hearing earlier in the year, those people's identities were not made public by the court. Further I believe that they had requested their identities not be revealed but be kept as a sealed portion of the document, as they feared for their own livelihoods. Some of them were just restaurant staff, if memory serves. Not all of them were owners or managers.

I am a bit saddened at some of the posts that I have seen on TGO subsequent to Chancellor Bonnyman's overturning of the restaurant carry provision for HCP holders. Tempers are flaring, people are upset and emotion rather than calm, logical thought seems to be dictating some of what people are saying. Emotionally based, knee jerk reactions, are the domain of the weak minded. Why are we falling prey to this? Case in point: A contingent of TGO members feels that a "scorched earth" policy of boycotting any restaurant that serves beer or alcohol is in order. Think about that for a minute. Scorched Earth. Do you know where this term comes from? Do you understand the implications of enacting a policy that gives no regard to guilt or innocence but rather declares that a blanket punishment should be applied to everyone in a certain segment of business society? I am appalled at this. I am appalled that any of our members think it is a good idea. This is a tactic that has been used by totalitarian regimes throughout history. It is a tool of repression and oppression. It is a tactic that creates fear and hatred. It is not a tool that wins the hearts and minds of those whom we desperately need as our allies. There are plenty of restaurants that serve alcohol by the drink who have been on the side of the Tennessee HCP holder through this entire ordeal. There are plenty who did not exercise their right to prohibit carry. There are plenty who did not post that their restaurants were off limits, who refused to subscribe to the illogical, irrational, emotion-driven fears being dished out by the media. Why do those restauranteers deserve to be punished? The answer is simple: They do not. The concerned, angry gun owner need look no further than Tennessee's capitol hill to find a worthy target of his or her disdain. Place the blame and the consequence where it belongs, not on the backs of those who have either publicly or silently abided with us by not posting their eating establishments as off-limits to the gun owner. Anything less than this is a pathetic exercise in "Thug Tactics" and most certainly will cost the cause of the gun owner in the months ahead. Mark my words.