Nolan Finley: "I was fuming. Muttering under my breath. Stomping my foot. Grimacing. And yes, cussing."
Nolan Finley, the Detroit News' chief editorial writer, offers a first-hand illustration of how some gun shops act responsibly when it comes to firearms sales.
He tells how a dealer wouldn't sell a 12-gauge shotgun after he lost his cool in the store. It happened to be Sunday, Nov. 5, the same day as the massacre at the church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Finley describes getting frustrated while struggling to fill out an online federal questionnaire that would determine eligibility for the purchase. He kept slipping up and having to start over.
Five times I tried to fill out the form correctly, and each time I noticed a mistake and had to start again from the beginning. Nothing makes me lose my mind quicker than technology. I was fuming. Muttering under my breath. Stomping my foot. Grimacing. And yes, cussing.
The salesperson tried to help, but, as tends to happen when I blow my top, I curtly cut him off. On the final failure, I threw up my hands and stormed away, declaring, “I don’t want the &%$@ gun this badly.”
I walked around the store until I calmed down and returned to the gun counter. With some help, I managed to get the form right, and waited for the salesperson to take my credit card and deliver the shotgun.
Then the sporting goods store manager told the opinion page editor she was uncomfortable because of his behavior.
I was embarrassed, shocked, and, in truth, angry all over again. I left the store without the shotgun. On the way home, I was all tore up about this violation of my Second Amendment rights — until I heard the news out of Texas.
I realized the people at the store were right. They cared enough about who would be using the weapon they were selling to not place it in the hands of someone acting a little crazy.
