The other day I was shopping for gun bargains as I sometimes do in the area Pawn Shops…you’d be pleased to know that some good guns are sometimes found amoung the junk. I stopped in a newer shop in Austin that I’d never been to before and checked out the gun selection. They had nothing that interested me but then I spotted a sign that announced that this particular pawn shop would not sell a handgun to anyone except Concealed Handgun License holders, per direction from their insurance company.

Now there are a lot of people that don’t want to carry a weapon but keep one in their home, or they use it on private property for a variety of legitimate purposes…and these folks rarely feel they need a license. Their choice…just as it’s my choice to carry! This regulation by an insurance company amounts to a backdoor to having a license to own….A salesman approached me about that time:

“May I help you?”

“Um, sure! I’d like to see that Ruger revolver there!” (I have no use for a single action .22 revolver but I wanted to see if he would show it to me!)

“Do you have a handgun license?”

“Why do you ask?”

“We can’t sell to anyone without a license.” and he went on to explain about the insurance company.

“Hmmmm, sounds like you need to change insurance companies!”

“Ha-ha! Well we can’t do that!”

“Ha-ha! Well I’ve been looking for a Ruger Single Six like that one but if that’s your policy I’ll just have to keep looking!”

“You’re kidding?”

Basically, I explained to him that anyone who was not a felon or a mental incompetant (like a democrat) could buy a weapon in this State. Their policy restricting this freedom with their mandated discriminatory practices infringed on peoples rights and I refused to do business with anyone like that. Then I walked out and left him there with his mouth open.

Has anyone else encountered this?