"Checking Your Rights at the Door"

Why some gun shops do not want you to carry a weapon in the store...

Notice the "I Plead the 2nd" Sticker below it... real clear signals there...

I was walking past a sign that told me to check my gun at the door, and got pretty upset about it and wanted to discuss it all with you. Does it ever strike you as strange that so many gun stores consider themselves "beacons of hope and FREEDOM"? They are waving flags, showing off pictures of Reagan, talking all "tact-i-cool", saying they are the edge of freedom, defending and exercising our RIGHT to bear arms.

Then why on God's green earth do you see signs, or hear them ask you to leave your gun in the car?!?!

First, lets discuss what the difference is between a right and a privilege. Meriam-Webster defines a privilege as " a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor." So something that is given to you and is GRANTED. This is in contrast to a RIGHT, which is "something that one may properly claim as due" or" the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled." A Right is something that is intrinsic to you, given by birth, government, or a higher power. It is immutable and permanent! So why do gun shops, who argue to represent YOUR RIGHTS, ask you to check them at the door?!?!

Well, it is because there is trust involved. Just because you have a right, does not mean that you are qualified to exercise it, but there in lies the rub...

When we give others the ability to dictate if we are qualified for our rights, we give up the intrinsic nature of that right. It just got down graded to a privilege. You see this in states like California, New York, and Massachusetts. Try and carry a firearm there, let me know how much you feel like you are exercising a right OR are being made to argue/prove your worthiness!

That being said, no not everyone should carry a gun, but the greater questions is what qualifies a group or body of people to restrict the RIGHTS of its citizens that the Constitution grants to every American?

I do not have the perfect solution, I KNOW there is no political party that has it perfectly correct, and I would wager this will be an issue in our fine country for years to come. More to that point, the conversation that will surround this topic will have valid points on both sides and bring up topics and thoughts that will make us question our values, rights, and privileges. But that not what makes our Nation such an amazing place!

Well, we here at Renaissance cannot change America single-handedly, but we can control our shop and the space in which we live and occupy, which is why we will never impede your constitutional right to bear arms in our shop.

That being said read the sign below

To you and yours we wish you safety and prosperity. We also hope and pray that you NEVER need to use your firearm in self-defense, but should the need arise...

Stay Safe, Shoot Straight, and I will see you on the Range!

-Devon