Interesting comment at the mall

[TN_Mike]

Wolfchase Mall here in the Memphis area is a kind of gray area for OC. They are not posted so it is 100% legal to carry either concealed or openly there but, we have all heard some stories about OC folks being asked to leave.

We went to the mall Saturday. Wanted to pick up the only Lee Child- Jack Reacher novel we didn't have yet and that Walden Books was the on ly one in town with a copy. Also wanted to check F.Y.E. to see if the final season of Battlestar Galactica is out on DVD, it is!

We get there and I realize I have not brought any type of outer cover garment. I have never OC'ed at the Wolfchase Mall but it looks like this will be the day." Here we go" I say to myself.

We go in, walk to the book store, no comments no nothing. I go in, tell the guy behind the counter that they have a book on hold for me, he find it, he clearly sees the two tone XD service model on my right hip in the Blackhawk SERPA. Doesn't say anything, doesn't look freaked out at all. I buy my book and out we go.

We walk across to the F.Y.E. and go in. I ask the lady behind the counter there if the DVD is out, she tells me it is but they are sold out. Crud.

I turn and start walking towards the back of the store to find the wife and kids, (Wife is OC'ing her XD .40 Sub Compact) and I hear this behind me:
"Look at this guy! He's got a pistol on!"

I turn around and I see two guys, one really big black guy with a dress shirt and tie on and a smaller Italian looking younger guy looking at me. He (the smaller guy) says "Is that real?"
I tell him yes it is real.
He says "You can do that? You can just walk around with a gun on in public?"
I tell him that yes, if you have the permit to carry it is perfectly leagal to carry a gun either openly or concealed.
He says "Oh, I didn't know that. I am from Chicago and you sure can't do that there!"
I asked him if he was visiting Memphis and he tells me they both just moved here for work. I take a few minutes and explain the process for getting the permit in TN and tell them that there are a lot of people in TN, and in Shelby County in particular that carry, either concealed or openly, and maybe they should consider doing the same.

As they walked away they thanked me and said they thought they were going to like living in Tennessee.

All in all, a very good experience. And no one else, even the mall cops that we saw said anything about my gun. No problems at all.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[thebigdl86]

Hooray for a drama free experience.

[deadeye72]

Sounds like you may have added a couple more to the ranks. I do not go to either of the malls around here because they are posted. No big loss though, I hate the traffic.

[highoctane]

Sounds like a good day!

[Pikachu711]

That was an outstanding positive experience! We need to hear about more positive experiences as they occur. They don't happen all that often.

[retsupt99]

TN Mike...nice advertising and 'recruiting'...the more individuals who are exposed to firearms in a peaceful way, the more common it can become an every day event.
What would the BG's do of they walked into a malll and EVERYONE was openly armed.
Who would they choose to victimize? Yikes, what a terrible choice to have to make...

[Tombstone55]

A gun...RUN!!!

[ccw9mm]

Mike, kudos on the recruitment! While it can go many different ways, that's how it should go: no fanfare, no abject fear, and openly honest interest as to how citizens have acknowledged rights that folks from Chicago, Jersey and NYC only dream of.

[Bunny]

Woohoo! Excellent job, very nicely done! :)

[archer51]

Good job Mike. Glad it was 2 freedom loving people who left Chi-town and not 2 of King Daley's boys.

[Paco]

Good job Mike, and congrats on getting a good import from Chicago and not the other option.

[SCfromNY]

Good job!

A +1 for Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. The only author I can not wait for the paperback edition.

[cz2075bd]

Also wanted to check F.Y.E. to see if the final season of Battlestar Galactica is out on DVD, it is!

Excellent show, there is a big vacuum now that the series is concluded. I was at Costco yesterday and was surprised to see the final season out, plus the entire series on Blu-Ray in a box set. Almost bought it but still need to pay off my wife's new sig.

I've gotten much more into firearms since most of BSG aired, so I'm planning to go back and watch it all again and pay more attention to the guns in the show and how they are handled. The show always tried to have a gritty realism to it (despite being sci-fi) and I'm wondering if that carried through to firearms.

Sorry to hijack thread but it seemed more relevant to reply here than to start a new one.

[pcon]

Nice! Those are the sort of days that are encouraging to hear about.

[ccw9mm]

Also wanted to check F.Y.E. to see if the final season of Battlestar Galactica is out on DVD

I remember BG from the early series, with Lorne Green, Dirk Benedict and others, 30yrs ago. You were, what, five years old, then?

Or, did they put together a newer rendition? (I don't really watch television, so I'm a bit out of the loop on this one.)