Keeping it classy Memphis

[ou812]

Gay man attacked at zoo: 'they say you know you're going to hell right?'

I guess they will start having metal detectors and bag searches there now!

"They just started out of nowhere physically assaulting," Buckner said. 

According to the police report, someone in the crowd shouted 'gun' as Buckner's friends came to his defense against the man who punched him.

After hearing someone shout 'gun', zoo visitors started scrambling.

"That's what made everyone start running away when they had the gun," Buckner said. "When she lifted up the gun everybody just started running.

[Ronald_55]

Can these people worry less about searching everyone for guns and focus on the idiots that decided it was a good idea to attack this guy. I love that the gun was like 1/2%  of the story, but becomes the focus. I mean no one shot him, they beat the crap out of him, so can we just remove everyone's hands on the way into the zoo?

I am guessing the real motive was that they were mad he did not loan them his phone.

[JAB]

Yeah, even the guy who got his butt kicked was more worried about the possibility that there might have been a gun - which was never used as part of the assault - than the fact that he received a beat down.  Further, just because he is 'disgusted' by firearms doesn't mean that everyone else's right to legally carry should be revoked.  You know what, I am personally not real keen on the idea of two men engaging in physical relations but that doesn't mean I think there should be a policy of searching for and prohibiting gay guys from attending the zoo.

To be truthful, who knows if there even really was a gun.  Someone could have seen something that, in all the confusion, they thought was a gun.  Heck, someone could have simply yelled, "Gun," and this anti-gun dude just went with it.  After all, the assailants were not apprehended so I see no evidence that there was a gun present, at all, other than his claim and the fact that someone else in the crowd thought they might have seen something that may have been a gun.  It sounds to me more like this guy is trying to leverage sympathy and outrage over his butt whoopin' to further what is likely a personal, pre-existing crusade against guns.  Finally, we have only his word and the word of his friends for why the altercation started in the first place.  That is, basically, only one side of the story and frankly, because of the way he focuses on the gun and not on the beating, I don't necessarily put that much faith in his account of the events as a whole.

Edited April 20, 2017 by JAB

[monkeylizard]

Besides, he couldn't see too well with one eye swollen shut.

[DWARREN123]

Some people are stupid and should be in zoo's!

Leave other folks be, dammit!

[peejman]

It's not just a Memphis thing.  While this didn't involve guns, it certainly was gay bashing. The victim is a friend of a friend. 

http://wate.com/2017/03/09/3-maryville-men-charged-with-beating-robbing-man-on-foothills-parkway/

[Grayfox54]

Oh, great.  I've carried at the zoo several times without any problems. I guess now they'll rush in and put up signs forbidding concealed carry. OTOH, is the zoo considered a park?

Just so happens that my GF has relatives visiting. One of the places they plan to go is the zoo. If I go along, I will be carrying. Guess I'll find out when I get to the gate. 

[xsubsailor]

1 hour ago, Grayfox54 said:

Oh, great.  I've carried at the zoo several times without any problems. I guess now they'll rush in and put up signs forbidding concealed carry. OTOH, is the zoo considered a park?

Just so happens that my GF has relatives visiting. One of the places they plan to go is the zoo. If I go along, I will be carrying. Guess I'll find out when I get to the gate. 

 I don't know if they have the appropriate signs or not but this is their published rules.

 

ZOO RULES

• Persons ages 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult age 21 or older.
• The Zoo does not allow balloons, glass containers, alcohol, weapons, bicycles, rollerblades, skates or the popular roller shoes, Heelys, on its property. Coolers and children's wagons are welcome.
• Appropriate dress for a family-friendly institution is required. Attire not permitted includes, but is not limited to, visible underwear and clothing that promotes or displays profanity, violence, drugs or alcohol or criminal activity.
• Profane language, fighting, or any acts of violence are strictly prohibited.
• To protect the health and safety of our animals and visitors, the Memphis Zoo is a smoke-free facility.
• Pets are not allowed inside the Zoo. Please make arrangements to board your animal before visiting. NOTE: Special accommodations will be made for certified service animals. Please call 901.333.6500 or e-mail zooinfo@memphiszoo.org for more information.
• No soliciting.

 

https://www.memphiszoo.org/planyourvisit

[Chucktshoes]

 As of the last time I was there, there were no signs prohibiting carry up at the zoo. That said, I have not been there in over a year since I decided that I could no longer support the zoo financially and canceled my membership due to their constant attempts of landgrab in Overton Park. 

[Grayfox54]

We went to the Zoo yesterday. There is a small NO GUNS decal in the lower corner of the ticket window. The print was too small and I just didn't have time to read the details. So I can't say if licensed carry is allowed or not. Sticker was only a few inches in size. No other signs posted anywhere else that I could find and I was looking.  

[chances R]

I don't see what the problem is anyway!  It is clearly stated in their rules that violence IS NOT ALLOWED.  That means the assault cannot happen anyway....gun or not.

[300winmag]

The zoo is in Overton Park and is a rec facility so I've assumed for the past couple of years that carry there is legal, whether or not there are state compliant 'no gun' signs.  Parks can still post no gun signs, they just do not apply to people with handgun carry permits.