Public responds with anger to restaurant that kicked out armed and active police officers
Three uniformed Department of Corrections parole officers walked in to a T.G.I. Friday’s in Franklin, Tennessee to have some lunch while on active duty. It was the manager’s reaction to seeing these active duty officers armed that has lost T.G.I. customers and caused quite a stir among 2nd Amendment supporters.
The manager told the officers to leave because they were armed… Police… Active duty… Because they were armed? What an embarrassment to the popular chain of restaurants.
When word got out about what happened at the restaurant 0n Tuesday, social media erupted.
“Thanks to your treatment of police officers @ your Franklin, TN loc, I’ve had my last mediocre meal at any of your restaurants,” Twitter user Adrian B. wrote to T.G.I. Friday’s official Twitter account.
Another user called the manager’s decision appalling, while a very savvy one noted that this particular location “would be the first place for someone to rob now.”
Once T.G.I. Friday’s corporate office heard about the ruckus, it immediately issued an statement.
“The incident at our Franklin, Tennessee, restaurant was caused by a manager’s misunderstanding of our company gun policy, and that manager has since been coached on the policy and now knows that police officers are always allowed to carry guns in our restaurants, whether they are in uniform or not,” the company wrote in a statement.
The company also issued an apology to the officers and invited them back for a free lunch.
Awkward! Darn straight that T.G.I fixed part of the problem though! Any restaurant that denies service to our armed officers or service members should no longer be supported by those who support the right to bear arms. Like the person in this article tweeted, restaurants like this are opening themselves up for unopposed criminal activity by banning guns. Even though police are allowed to carry in their restaurants, the general public is NOT.
The Franklin location said on its Facebook page, “Please understand with all the public shootings, we just want to do our best to keep all the guests safe.”
…Really?! They think banning all guns makes their restaurant “safer?” We’re all aware of what a joke that is.
We are certainly cognizant of the consequences of making a place or business “gun free.” BAD idea, gun free zones are where the majority of shootings take place. For those of us who know how important it is to always carry and be prepared, looks like T.G.I. dishes are off the menu.
