Gun Shop Owner Takes Out Full Page Ad in Local Paper Warning Obama Voters to Stay Away from His Store
There have been no shortage of sore losers in the aftermath of last week's presidential election, but Pinetop, Arizona, may be home to the sorest loser of them all.
Cope Reynolds, who runs the Southwest Shooting Authority gun shop in the small Navajo County town of 4,000, spent his own (presumably) hard-earned money to take out a full-page ad in the White Mountain Independent declaring all Obama voters personae non gratae.
"If you voted for Barack Obama you business is NOT WELCOME at Southwest Shooting Authority," reads the ad. "You have proven you are not responsible enough to own a firearm."
(For the record, should Obama supporters in Pinetop heed the ad and stay clear of Reynolds' shop, he stands to lose about a 736 potential customers.)
In an email to the Phoenix New Times' Valley Fever blog, Reynolds explains that he know full well that this policy is not particularly enforceable, but it's the principle of the thing:
Obviously, this is nothing more than a political statement. Of course, it would be impossible to enforce. If they don't say anything, we'll never know. They could purchase whatever they wanted and they would probably get a big kick out of thinking that they are rubbing it in our face as they walk out the door. Some folks are easily amused that way.
However, if they own up to it, we will not serve them. This goes way beyond gun control, which many think is why we did this. I should have as much right to post a sign on my door as those that post "No Guns" on their doors.
Sure. And while you're at it, why not post a "Whites Only" sign as well? That should take most of the guess work out of figuring out which of you customers is just buying stuff for a laugh.