A store manager for a Kay Jewelers in Statesville, North Carolina is looking for work after a sheriff’s deputy says he was refused service because he was armed.

In a Facebook post published Wednesday, the Iredell County Sheriff’s office wrote that a uniformed deputy went to the store on his lunch break to pick up an engagement ring. That’s when things turned weird:

A uniformed deputy, while on his lunch break, was notified the engagement ring he had purchased for his upcoming wedding proposal, had been sized and was ready for him to pick up at Kay Jewelers located on Turnersburg Highway in Statesville. The deputy took his meal break to pick up the ring, and was met at the door by the store manager, who informed him he was not allowed to wear his service weapon while on their premises. The deputy informed the manager he was in uniform and his marked patrol car was in the parking lot, and it would be a violation of policy for him to remove his service weapon while in uniform.

The sheriff’s office went on to note that that policy was in place for a reason:

This policy is in place for not only the safety of the deputy, but the general public as well. The manager stated our deputy would need to return to the store at a different time when he was not armed. The deputy left the store, without the ring he had purchased.

The Iredell County Sheriffs Office, along with Sheriff Darren Campbell, are deeply saddened at a situation involving a… Posted by Iredell County Sheriff on Wednesday, June 5, 2019

As a result of this incident, Kay Jewelers has issued a statement indicating that the manager is no longer employed by the store:

Sheriff Darren Campbell told WBTV News in the video clip below that he believes the deputy was refused service not just because of his gun, but because he was wearing a law enforcement uniform.

“This was an attack because of a uniform,” Campbell stated. “This was an attack because this officer, a young officer – his chosen profession is law enforcement. And he was refused service because of that.”

Watch:

"This was an attack because of a uniform…"@IredellSheriff says a deputy tried to pick up a @KayJewelers ring he'd paid for, in uniform, his gun on his side. An employee turned the deputy away because of the gun – the store now apologizing (https://t.co/9FJ5bfldpq) More at 11 pic.twitter.com/Djh42N1nBk — Amanda Foster WBTV (@AFosterWBTV) June 5, 2019

As I’ve written before on this issue, it still floors me when I think about the fact that the idiots who refuse service or who otherwise give shoddy/disrespectful service to our military veterans and law enforcement officers actually think they can get away with it.

Military veterans and law enforcement officers share time in their respective fields under the harshest conditions imaginable. They train together. They work together. They shed blood, sweat, and tears together. They have each other’s backs. They’re willing to take bullets for each other.

And it’s deeply personal to every one of them when one of their own comes under attack, whether in the battlefield, in the line of duty here stateside, or in the normal, everyday roles they serve in their communities.

Anti-law enforcement/military service workers (which I assume is the case here) should know better than to think that the people who rush to protect and defend their fellow Americans whether at home or abroad are actually going to take being insulted and disrespected lying down.

But said workers have been emboldened by Resistance™ culture, and act accordingly. So be it. In the end, though, they will more often than not find out it’s not worth it – as the manager in this case did.

————–

—Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter.–