NEWS & COMMENTARY The Pit restaurant leaves its staff and patrons defenseless in armed robbery



The Pit restaurant in Durham left its patrons defenseless while an armed robbery too place Sunday (5-18-14). The reason staff and employees were defenseless was because the owner of the restaurant prohibits weapons in his establishment. As a result concealed carry, or open carry, weapons owners could have been in a position to protect themselves and others from the criminals.



Moreover, it is not known at this time whether the "gun-free" zone was a enticement to the robber to pick The Pit because they knew the people there would be defenseless.



Grass Roots North Carolina has the story: On Sunday, The Pit Authentic Barbecue, a "gun-free" restaurant in Durham was robbed at gunpoint. Thank goodness no one was seriously injured or killed during the robbery. Of course, as written on the NC Gun Blog, the innocents "were not murdered only because the robbers did not decide to kill them. The robbers had all the power. No one could resist them. Why? Because the owner of The Pit Authentic Barbecue has banned guns in his restaurant." Another day—a different arbitrary decision—and we might be discussing something much more horrific than a robbery.



The Raleigh location of The Pit is where anti-gun carpetbagger, Gabbe Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, held last summer's so-called "Round Table with Gun Owners." An event from which many actual Triangle area gun owners were carefully excluded. You can read more about that event at the NC Gun Blog, here. The Pit's "No Concealed Weapons" sign, which brazenly announces that its customers and employees are absolutely defenseless (photo below), is not "off the shelf" either. The Pit had this sign custom made just for their restaurant to make a specific political statement (more about that at this NC Gun Blog post). Although anti-gun signs like this undeniably serve to endanger the innocent, in WNCN's report on the robbery, The Pit's owner, Greg Hatem, had this to say: "We take this very seriously, very seriously because we want to make sure that our guests and our staff are well taken care of. We want to protect everyone." Really? Does Mr. Hatem want to "protect everyone"? Disallowing effective means of self-defense is actually a great way to make sure no one is protected—except of course for the armed robbers. With The Pit's anti-gun policy glaringly on display, odds are the armed bandits felt quite protected. They probably weren't even nervous.



Yes, it would seem that the anti-gun political statement posted on The Pit's entrance has successfully empowered the most violent among us, while leaving good people, people who just want to grab a bite or make rent, terrorized and begging for their lives.



Guns save lives, and anti-gun signs risk them. Below, see how you can go about asking ownership at The Pit (owned by Empire Eats) if they will continue to unnecessarily put the lives of their employees and customers on the line, or if they'll wise up and change their dangerous anti-gun policy. The thugs were "merciful" this time, but next time they may not be so generous.



Note: Greg Hatem's company "Empire Eats," owns the following restaurants:



The Pit (Raleigh and Durham), Gravy, Sitti, The Morning Times, and The Raleigh Times. (Read more on that at the NC Gun Blog.) The Pit restaurant in Durham left its patrons defenseless while an armed robbery too place Sunday (5-18-14). The reason staff and employees were defenseless was because the owner of the restaurant prohibits weapons in his establishment. As a result concealed carry, or open carry, weapons owners could have been in a position to protect themselves and others from the criminals.Moreover, it is not known at this time whether the "gun-free" zone was a enticement to the robber to pick The Pit because they knew the people there would be defenseless.Grass Roots North Carolina has the story: Click here to go to the original source.

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