Every new chain that bans guns is a 'win' for civilization, and a loss for vigilantes, crackpot fanatics, and those old white flabby and crabby fools who see the world through a fog of fear where they hope to get a chance to blast someone who represents the change with which they cannot cope.
From the Huff Po:
Chili's Considers New Gun Policy
Chili's is reviewing its policy on guns in its restaurants after a pro-gun group upset diners by bringing rifles to one of its Texas locations.
The restaurant chain's statement comes just days after another cadre of Texas activists, also carrying guns, prompted Chipotle to issue a statement telling customers that guns aren't welcome at any of its locations.
Chili's isn't going that far yet, but the idea is on the table. “Given the recent attention to open carry laws, we are evaluating our policy to ensure we provide a safe environment for our guests and team members,” a spokeswoman for Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, told The Huffington Post.
Brinker didn't immediately respond to a follow-up question asking what exactly Chili's policy currently states.
The company's decision to review its stance on the issue was prompted by a video that surfaced on YouTube of a group of men carrying rifles into a Chili’s in San Antonio, Texas.
Laws about openly carrying firearms vary by state. Though Texas bans carrying handguns, it is legal to carry a rifle. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, however, prohibits businesses with liquor licenses from allowing rifles and shotguns on their premises.
Viewed by HuffPost before it was taken down on Wednesday night, the video shows the men, each carrying at least one heavy firearm, asking to be seated. The server appears to hesitate. A woman, apparently upset by the presence of the heavy weaponry in the restaurant, appears to take photos with an iPhone of each of the men in the group and seems to angrily scold them for bringing guns into a restaurant with children. A host at the restaurant then asks them to leave.
"We'd be glad to accommodate you, we're happy to sit you and feed you," the server says. "You just have to leave your firearms outside."
Sonic's didn't like them either:
In the second video, which has also since been removed, a male employee from the Sonic asks the men to remove their guns from the dining area or leave. The men cancel their food order and depart.
UPDATE: 2:45 p.m. -- Open Carry Texas backed down on Friday afternoon, notifying members on that they are to "immediately cease" taking shotguns and rifles into private businesses unless invited to do so.
Even civilization intruding on the wild west in the 19th century did not allow guns everywhere in cities and towns. Gun nuts appear to hold to a revisionist history of our country, and of carrying firearms, and seem to be too socially maladroit to understand without prompting what is appropriate.