Olive Garden apologizes after Kansas City police officer asked to leave because

[Mike Elzinga]

Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Im not going into any restaurant that doesn't allow legal gun owners to carry, be it uniformed police officer or legally armed civilian. My life is as important to me as their life is to them.

 

[KellyinAvon]

No, but the perception is there. People generally are far more willing to trust a uniformed officer with a gun, than any other type of stranger. That's how it is with most thing. If you showed the average person a picture a uniformed/helmeted USAF NCO, and then showed them a picture of a 57 year old commercial airline pilot in a polo and Khakis, who do you think most would pick if asked to decided who they'd rather pilot a plane they were onboard? Is not right, it just is.

If NCOs were allowed to fly, we'd do it better. Been kept down by the (commissioned) man since Class 42J.

 

[HawgdawgLS]

Whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Im not going into any restaurant that doesn't allow legal gun owners to carry, be it uniformed police officer or legally armed civilian. My life is as important to me as their life is to them.

https://twitter.com/olivegarden/status/653711968411480064

https://twitter.com/olivegarden/status/653710778063810560

 

[Kutnupe14]

You gotta feel sorry for the guy at Olive Garden's corporate office who had all of this dumped on him.

 

[Lil Bob]

I have to believe this action is not a reflection on the company as a whole. Rather it reflects the uninformed decisions that employees make either because they were not properly trained to begin with or they are putting their own personal beliefs into their work irrelevant of company policies. Either way I cannot believe that any employee would tell an on-duty uniformed police officer that they are not welcome in their business. I would be happy to have them in my place of business, they tend to make the place safer for a while at least.

 

[DRob]

................................. I don't think it is smart for a knee-jerk reactions.

I would inquire, regardless of it being SOP on INGO, when is a knee jerk reaction ever smart?

 

[Fargo]

I would inquire, regardless of it being SOP on INGO, when is a knee jerk reaction ever smart?

When your knee gets struck?

 

[Bill of Rights]

No, but the perception is there. People generally are far more willing to trust a uniformed officer with a gun, than any other type of stranger. That's how it is with most thing. If you showed the average person a picture a uniformed/helmeted USAF NCO, and then showed them a picture of a 57 year old commercial airline pilot in a polo and Khakis, who do you think most would pick if asked to decided who they'd rather pilot a plane they were onboard? Is not right, it just is.

Seems to me then that the perception needs to be changed. A uniform is just a set of clothes. What about the plainclothes officer? If his gun somehow becomes visible/known to the staff, is he going to get a "pass" that a non-LEO citizen wouldn't, because of that badge? That's the problem here... not with the officer, but with the perception that the badge somehow makes someone more trustworthy or less likely to cause mayhem and death than your average John Q. LTCH-holder.

The simple fact is that there are exceptions on both sides of the badge, and the real good guys shouldn't be lumped in with the nimrods... let alone with the actual bad guys.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[venenoindy]

Regardless of how much training you can put an employee through they will still make some very stupid mistakes (trust me), Darden as far I know has no policies about asking police officers to leave because they have weapons. I ask everyone not to judge the entire staff for the poor decisions of one person, some time ago I went to a UPS hub to ship a handgun and I was told that I couldn't (even though it's very clear on their website says that you can) and treated me like I was doing something illegal. I asked for a supervisor and told him his employee needed to be more aware of the policies and did not hold him responsible for the ignorance of somebody else.

 

[tmcindy]

lol I eat at Olive Garden all the time & I ALWAYS CC.

 

[HawgdawgLS]

It might be a nice gesture from the Open Carry community to open our wallets to Olive Garden now that because of this event some would-be armed robbers might mistakenly think Olive Garden is a gun free zone.

 

[Expat]

Sounds like Olive Garden was not at fault and reacted reasonably ( I would have fired the person right away, but that is me). This was probably a copy cat. He read about the prior incidences and wanted the attention.

 

[actaeon277]

lol I eat at Olive Garden all the time & I ALWAYS CC.

It might be a nice gesture from the Open Carry community to open our wallets to Olive Garden now that because of this event some would-be armed robbers might mistakenly think Olive Garden is a gun free zone.

I already OC there.

 

[dusterboy49]

As a former police officer I can tell you that I wouldn't ever visit an establishment that thinks an on duty police officer should not be armed.
Wearing the uniform includes carrying a firearm, and I would not be so silly as to endanger my life by not doing so.
These stupid liberals are just that, stupid!

 

[Drail]

But many of the employees in places like O. Garden are incapable of rational thinking and when presented with a rule such as "no guns allowed" will apply it equally to everybody without question or thought. Some of these kids today REALLY are that dumb. Just like the "rule" (or law) requiring that clerks demand to see a photo I.D. to prove a customer is old enough to buy cigarettes or alcohol. If I am 70 years old and some clerk believes he needs to card me - that's just stupid.