2 Responses to MO: No To Gun Ownership Discrimination, Yes To LGBT Discrimination

1. 

   Not Given

   August 17, 2012 at 5:45 pm

   While I am not a member of the nmlra I have been participating in colonial reenactments since I was about 5 so I have learned to shoot and grown up around muzzle loaders including my step-father’s who is a nmlra member. I recently had a situation in which I was terminated from a job partially because of my discussion of such activities. I wanted to contact both your organization and the NRA not because I am looking for anything because I can pick myself up and move on but because of the mentality that these individuals had toward a hobby amazes me and seens to violate our rights as Americans. I worked for a local bank as a Branch Executive Officer for which I was terminated on Wednesday August 15th to be effective the date of my last day of work August 3rd, 2012 while they “investigated allegations” that they did not give me any opportunity to discuss prior to receiving my termination letter and turning in my ID badge and bank keys.

   The first half of my termination is lack of professionalism toward the training department. This is from working for the bank for over 1 month before being sent to basic teller training. This system I had already made clear I used in a previous banking institution on my very first day with the bank. I also had over a month to shadow one of my employees to learn what I did not know and to complete the online trainings 19 of the 19 required and 210 of the 232 ELECTIVE trainings. So in class I was ahead of the new employees who had never worked in banking let alone with the system so I annoyed the facilitator because I answered questions when no one else could and was completed with transactions before most of them even finished step one. Because I finished ahead of everyone else I was jumping in to help coach employees who were not understanding what was taking place while the facilitator was busy with other employees. So the facilitator and I discussed with another fellow manager the days that would be important for me to be in class and the days it would not. So I did not show up for a day of training in which my boss’ boss called and ripped me a new one for not showing up to. Fine and dandy I disobeyed the set schedule that was a waste of time I accept that. The first part of my termination I can almost accept even though the facilitator and I discussed the training schedule with another manager who was also popping in and out on random days AND the exact same HR person came into the lunch room at the moment we were discussing the schedule and was told that was what we were doing because that same HR person informed me I missed a riveting speach they gave on the first day of training….which I was not present for because the facilitator said I did not need to be. This was not their main focus of the termination but a secondary piece that they added after informing me I was terminated based upon the following reasons. My letter of termination states both reasons highlighting the guns as the first and primary reason.

   The part that I have a problem with is that in a discussion of hobbies the devout christian employees can discuss church and have a religious radio station on playing during bank hours but part of my termination letter states I am being terminated for discussing with employees and customers the fact that I shoot flintlock and that I have a license to carry for my taurus g2. In my termination meeting I was told by HR that shooting guns and having a license to carry, even though I never brought a weapon onto bank property nor would I ever, is not a common “hobby” like fishing and hiking are. The HR person also stated that in light of recent event such as the shooting in the movie theatre that guns of any kind are even scarier when I pointed out that the muzzle loader can only be fired once before needing to be reloaded. I am sorry but how is a trained armed person scarier than a crazy person? Even during my interview process this exact same HR person asked me what I do for fun which during both my first and second interview I disclosed that I participate in colonial reenactments and shoot muzzleloader. This discussion with customers was brought up to several different individuals because we discussed hobbies such as hunting, which funny enough usually requires a gun or bow and arrow, and the fact that every single one of my brothers is current or fomer military and that going to the range with my youngest brother when he gets home from deployment is something I was looking forward to. My second youngest brother comes home in 5 days and it was also discussed how he would be home in time for the Labor Day weekend encampment we have always participated in and that I was going to borrow my step-father’s .735 caliber smoothbore.

   Now this company has a 120 day probationary period where they can terminate any employee for any reason and Pennsylvania is an at will state so that is why I slightly accept the first reason but the second seems to violate my right to keep and BEAR arms. I never violated their rules of no guns on bank property not ever nor would I ever because it is a bank and banks get robbed so why make myself the first target. Which was also something discussed with employees that my personality is one of fight not flight which goes against the banks robbery procedure and I expressed my understanding of this but because I stated I under normal circumstances would fight back I could potentially adversly affect the bank. I did not know owning and shooting a gun could not be a hobby and that fighting for my life or dignity etc was so wrong.
2. 

   adamas

   May 4, 2012 at 11:55 pm

   I have never seen it asked on an application, nor have I ever been asked if I own a firearm. Frankly it’s nobody’s buisness. The sheer brainlessness of this…I can think of nothing to call her that wouldn’t be an insult to whatever group I named, and those like her just give me a splitting headache!.