Have Gun - Will Carry
Regular Member
Several hours ago I was asked to leave the Super Wal-Mart in Burlington, a place I've carried before without an issue. Wasn't in the store but 5 or 6 minutes when I started hearing radio chatter from nearby employees describing me: "it's in a holster" and a couple minutes later, "he's wearing jeans, jacket and a hat, and it's on his right side."
Near the back of the store I made sure my recorder was running, and soon my wife & I were approached on my weak side by two female employees. One asked if I had a firearm, and I replied yes. She then asked me to take it out of the store and leave it in the car, to which I responded, "You do realize that open carry is legal in Wisconsin, right?"
Her reply was that carrying firearms is against store policy, so I would have to leave. I asked if she was sure about that, and politely asked to speak to a manager, but she said, "I am a manager." I said that I wasn't arguing with her and would soon leave, but informed her that Wal-Mart's corporate policy stated that open carry is allowed in Wisconsin stores. She told us that didn't matter, because store policy does not allow firearms (a policy that likely didn't exist 10 minutes earlier), so I gave up my half-hearted attempt at educating her and we left.
Of course, now I'll probably have to contact someone at corporate HQ to have her straightened out. Where does one begin that process? Or do they allow individual stores the leeway to ban guns? I know I've read about it here before, but I'm too tired to look it up right now.
Near the back of the store I made sure my recorder was running, and soon my wife & I were approached on my weak side by two female employees. One asked if I had a firearm, and I replied yes. She then asked me to take it out of the store and leave it in the car, to which I responded, "You do realize that open carry is legal in Wisconsin, right?"
Her reply was that carrying firearms is against store policy, so I would have to leave. I asked if she was sure about that, and politely asked to speak to a manager, but she said, "I am a manager." I said that I wasn't arguing with her and would soon leave, but informed her that Wal-Mart's corporate policy stated that open carry is allowed in Wisconsin stores. She told us that didn't matter, because store policy does not allow firearms (a policy that likely didn't exist 10 minutes earlier), so I gave up my half-hearted attempt at educating her and we left.
Of course, now I'll probably have to contact someone at corporate HQ to have her straightened out. Where does one begin that process? Or do they allow individual stores the leeway to ban guns? I know I've read about it here before, but I'm too tired to look it up right now.