This is the final copy of the letter sent.
Blain's Farm & Fleet
Blain Supply, Inc.
PO Box 391
Janesville, WI
53547-0391
To whom it may concern,
This letter is in response to a sign found in your Oak Creek store window.
“Policy
Weapons Free Evironment/Customers. (spelling error BF&F)
“We respect your right to carry a firearm in accordance with State and Federal law.
However, Farm and Fleet is a weapons free environment and we ask you to leave your weapon in your vehicle while shopping at our store.
We appreciate your business and hope you continue to shop with us.”
Below that sign is another that says; "We Welcome Your Check."
I can guarantee you that your stores in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa will lose customers because of your ill considered weapons policy.
I am giving you three business days from receipt of this letter before launching a boycott campaign against your stores everywhere.
Your policy is ludicrous. What you are doing by putting that sign up is alerting the criminal element in this world to the fact that you are ripe for all manner of mayhem. The sign might just as well say, “Terrorists Welcome” Or “Robbers Welcome, guns are available in the parking lot” Instead; it says: LAW ABIDING, AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE NOT WELCOME.
Your sad attempt to placate the “Liberal Left” has left a sour taste in my mouth for Blain's and I will take special pains to let all my friends know about your anti-American behavior. I have friends in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. You need to take me seriously because I have the power of the internet, the 1st Amendment and thousands of friends in organizations in three states.
You have an ill conceived policy guiding you. Who do you think will win this little tussle. I haven't even mentioned the picketing of your stores state wide in the spring, fund raisers highlighting your incredibly myopic policy, over 100 people at the last place we picketed. We have thousands of members in three states who will not shop at your stores and will be more than happy to travel hundreds of miles just for the opportunity to stand up for their rights. And that's the short story.
Further, you may consider that you picked a bad time to put your profits in jeopardy.
We are not a bunch of do nothings and have been down this road before. I belong to several Statewide Organizations that will love to get involved. The bottom line for you is that we will definitely affect your profit margin. Organizations including Wisconsin Carry Inc., ICarry.Org. of Illinois and the Iowa Firearms Coalition. I will not hesitate to explain in detail, including pictures, just what your anti-gun, anti-2nd amendment, anti-American policy is. This is not a trifle. There are just too many other choices to shop. Thanks for making the decision easy for us. No price comparison necessary, we just shop elsewhere. Believe you me, you will feel it monetarily.
All I am asking from you is that you simply FOLLOW WISCONSIN STATE LAW. Period. Get rid of the sign and follow state law concerning Open Carry. That or you may find yourself in court, explaining why you allowed criminals to carry weapons in your store, possibly assaulting someone with a weapon that you allowed to be stolen from a vehicle out in the parking lot.
I am quite sure you have no security or metal detectors in place and you cannot guarantee the safety of your customers but you are willing to put them at risk by banning honest, law abiding citizens the right to protect themselves. Criminals do not obey; let alone read, signs or store policies. Especially signs that are misspelled. That is why we call them criminals.
Finally I appeal to your fiscal responsibility. Open Carriers go where they are welcome, they spend their money where they are welcome, and they are fiercely loyal to establishments who allow their rights. Such places as Mechanix LTD. and Starbucks of Racine, Lizzy's green cafe of Kansasville, and gander mountain of Kenosha. all these places report increased traffic and sales due to the presence of open carriers in their establishments.
To this date none have reported ANY problems with the presence of open carriers in their businesses. I ask you to reconsider your position, and re-post a sign that says you allow firearms in your store(s) in accordance with state laws. Open Carriers are a unique and new market that few businesses have explored, and in this economy a new market can make the difference between a so-so year, and a great year in sales.
Thank You for your kind consideration.
Buffalo County
Racine WI
Cudahy WI
Cudahy WI
Trempealeau County
Mauston WI
Baraboo WI
Eau Claire WI
*
Blain's Farm & Fleet
Blain Supply, Inc.
PO Box 391
Janesville, WI
53547-0391
To whom it may concern,
This letter is in response to a sign found in your Oak Creek store window.
“Policy
Weapons Free Evironment/Customers. (spelling error BF&F)
“We respect your right to carry a firearm in accordance with State and Federal law.
However, Farm and Fleet is a weapons free environment and we ask you to leave your weapon in your vehicle while shopping at our store.
We appreciate your business and hope you continue to shop with us.”
Below that sign is another that says; "We Welcome Your Check."
I can guarantee you that your stores in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa will lose customers because of your ill considered weapons policy.
I am giving you three business days from receipt of this letter before launching a boycott campaign against your stores everywhere.
Your policy is ludicrous. What you are doing by putting that sign up is alerting the criminal element in this world to the fact that you are ripe for all manner of mayhem. The sign might just as well say, “Terrorists Welcome” Or “Robbers Welcome, guns are available in the parking lot” Instead; it says: LAW ABIDING, AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE NOT WELCOME.
Your sad attempt to placate the “Liberal Left” has left a sour taste in my mouth for Blain's and I will take special pains to let all my friends know about your anti-American behavior. I have friends in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. You need to take me seriously because I have the power of the internet, the 1st Amendment and thousands of friends in organizations in three states.
You have an ill conceived policy guiding you. Who do you think will win this little tussle. I haven't even mentioned the picketing of your stores state wide in the spring, fund raisers highlighting your incredibly myopic policy, over 100 people at the last place we picketed. We have thousands of members in three states who will not shop at your stores and will be more than happy to travel hundreds of miles just for the opportunity to stand up for their rights. And that's the short story.
Further, you may consider that you picked a bad time to put your profits in jeopardy.
We are not a bunch of do nothings and have been down this road before. I belong to several Statewide Organizations that will love to get involved. The bottom line for you is that we will definitely affect your profit margin. Organizations including Wisconsin Carry Inc., ICarry.Org. of Illinois and the Iowa Firearms Coalition. I will not hesitate to explain in detail, including pictures, just what your anti-gun, anti-2nd amendment, anti-American policy is. This is not a trifle. There are just too many other choices to shop. Thanks for making the decision easy for us. No price comparison necessary, we just shop elsewhere. Believe you me, you will feel it monetarily.
All I am asking from you is that you simply FOLLOW WISCONSIN STATE LAW. Period. Get rid of the sign and follow state law concerning Open Carry. That or you may find yourself in court, explaining why you allowed criminals to carry weapons in your store, possibly assaulting someone with a weapon that you allowed to be stolen from a vehicle out in the parking lot.
I am quite sure you have no security or metal detectors in place and you cannot guarantee the safety of your customers but you are willing to put them at risk by banning honest, law abiding citizens the right to protect themselves. Criminals do not obey; let alone read, signs or store policies. Especially signs that are misspelled. That is why we call them criminals.
Finally I appeal to your fiscal responsibility. Open Carriers go where they are welcome, they spend their money where they are welcome, and they are fiercely loyal to establishments who allow their rights. Such places as Mechanix LTD. and Starbucks of Racine, Lizzy's green cafe of Kansasville, and gander mountain of Kenosha. all these places report increased traffic and sales due to the presence of open carriers in their establishments.
To this date none have reported ANY problems with the presence of open carriers in their businesses. I ask you to reconsider your position, and re-post a sign that says you allow firearms in your store(s) in accordance with state laws. Open Carriers are a unique and new market that few businesses have explored, and in this economy a new market can make the difference between a so-so year, and a great year in sales.
Thank You for your kind consideration.
Buffalo County
Racine WI
Cudahy WI
Cudahy WI
Trempealeau County
Mauston WI
Baraboo WI
Eau Claire WI
*
