A restaurant owner in Alabama is one of several local small business owners who openly carry firearms inside their establishments.
According to AL.com, Doug Stewart is the owner of the GRITS-N-GRAVY restaurant located in Elberta, southeast Baldwin County. He spends five hours a day at the restaurant helping to serve customers.
While he’s there, Stewart openly carries a loaded Sig Sauer 9mm handgun. He also keeps a 12-gauge shotgun in plain view by the cash register and drive-through window. The shotgun rests on a chair with the barrel up against the wall.
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Stewart began keeping weapons at the restaurant after a robbery which took place on Dec. 31, 2012, AL.com said. Soon after the robbery, Stewart brought his handgun to work and kept it hidden behind the counter.
However, after seeing a story about the Shooters Grill restaurant in Rifle, Colorado, where co-owner Lauren Boebert and the waitresses openly carry firearms, Stewart was inspired to follow suit.
As AL.com reports, Alabama is an open-carry state, which gives Stewart the right to carry his Sig Sauer in plain view.
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“Men have fought and died for that right,” Stewart said. “Your rights are kind of like your muscle. If you don’t exercise them, you’ll lose them. So I decided at that point and time I was going to exercise my right to carry one.”
Read more: http://www.al.com
