Civitas Review Online

Brace yourself.

There is a store in Nashville, NC that sells guns.  (I know this is hard for some people to believe but, I swear, its true.)

This same store has posters in the window featuring the main product of the store: Guns. (Again, I know its difficult to believe but, stick with me.)

These posters with guns have drawn complaints from some residents for the models holding the guns.

Now, get this.  The posters had attractive women holding various firearms.

Have you recovered yet?  Things like this just cannot be allowed to happen in a place like Nashville.  Goodness gracious, what if some deviant man sees this poster and decides to undress the model with his eye? Why the very idea!!! (BTW, the women in the posters are all fully clothed.)

The next big question for most people is a big:

SO WHAT?

Unfortunately, the gunstore’s landlord is Nash County and politicians and bureaucrats typically have to show more concern for complaints than for standing up for a law abiding businessman’s rights.

The County Manager and Assistant Manager paid a visit to the store and talked to the owner to get his mind right.

One problem.  In case you are unfamiliar with the average gun store owner, they tend not to be intimidated very easily.  Keep in mind, these guys deal with Federal agents and bureaucratic red tape on a daily basis.  A couple of fellas from the county…eh, not so much.

Owner Dennis Nielsen said what most people need to say when government leans on them: NO

The issues here are stark differences in how people view liberty.  One complainer didn’t like the image of a woman holding a gun and another was concerned that the store was located near a domestic violence shelter.

The owner of the store has a lease with the county that gives him some degree of property rights as a tenant.  The store obviously has a 2nd Amendment right, not to mention the rights of Nash County’s gun buyers. Additionally, the 1st amendment rights of a merchant to advertise are also at stake here.

Obviously, the owner of the shop has accomplished his advertising goal with the posters, but the reaction of the government in this case showed a complete lack of regard for the proper role of government and how liberty really works.

Maybe he should have used this poster instead:

Not as many complaints with this one?