Jewelry Store Refuses Entry to Uniformed Deputy Because He Was Armed

A jewelry store in Statesville, North Carolina, would not allow an armed uniformed deputy to enter the store and pick up an engagement ring for his fiancée.

WBTV reported that the manager of the Kay Jewelers store told the deputy he could not come in with the gun on his hip. The deputy explained that he was on duty and was using his lunch break to pick up the ring.

Moreover, the deputy explained that he would be violating policy to go without his service sidearm while in uniform.

But the manager would not budge. Rather, he told the deputy to return at a time when he was not carrying a gun.

The deputy is part of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO), and that office used a Facebook post to explain its disappointment in the jewelry store’s handling of the situation. The ICSO noted the manager’s reaction to an armed law enforcement official was “very difficult…to comprehend, and [ISCO] earnestly hope[s] situations such as these are few and are diminishing.”

ICSO went on to thank other “citizens and businesses in our area who whole heartily support the men and women who wear the badge.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.