We had been seated for only a few minutes at the Grille, the restaurant in our gated community. Suddenly I saw my husband’s eyes open, then roll, as he shook his head in disgust. He was looking behind me, and as I turned around, I saw a couple sitting down at a table for two. Standing in front of their table for all to see was a white sign with the large letters “AR IS FOR WAR.” We live in a 55+ community, so the man was no youngster. His hair was grey, as was his wife’s, and he was wearing a distinctive military cap on his head, although I couldn’t read what it said.

We called our waiter over, who is a very nice young man, and said this was not the place for a political statement. He said he couldn’t do anything, but said he would let the manager know. After several minutes, the manager didn’t appear, so my husband lost his patience and went to fetch her. She told him she didn’t realize it was a political sign. Right. Several minutes later she appeared at the table with the sign, chatted, and left. Nothing else was done.

I could see that my husband was working up a head of steam; neither of us could let go of the couple’s insistence on making what we considered to be an offensive political statement. I finally told my husband that I was going over to see what kind of statement they thought they were making. I saw that the man was a Seabee from his hat, and said my husband was a Vietnam War vet. The conversation went somewhat like this:

Me: What’s your intention in displaying the sign here?

Them: We just returned from the march in Orlando and we’re displaying the sign for the kids. After all the kids were leading the march and needed our support.

Me: Ah, yes, the gun control march; you know that outside organizations are supplying money and coordination for them.

The conversation went downhill from there.

Me: The second amendment allows the right to bear arms.

Them: The second amendment only allows the right to form a militia. And this doesn’t have to do with the second amendment anyway.

Me: You are not well-informed.

Them: Oh, you must watch too much Fox News. How would you feel if someone wore a MAGA hat?

Me: I’d be fine except hats shouldn’t be worn indoors. And a hat is not comparable to a 3’x4’ sign.

Them: The kid in Parkland could have been stopped if he hadn’t had an assault rifle.

Me: Seriously? A person with a pistol and enough scared people could have done the same thing.

Them: I used an assault weapon (really) in the military and people don’t need them.

As I anticipated, we kept interrupting and talking over each other. Our voices were raised a little, but we both confessed we were hard of hearing. I finally walked away in disgust.

Someone may say the discussion was a waste of time. But it wasn’t for me.

I learned a lot. These folks confirmed for me that some gun control folks are uninformed (and these people owned guns); they are governed by emotion (it’s for the kids); they believe the propaganda of the left; they aren’t interested in civil discussion (although I wasn’t very helpful in making that happen).

This exchange gave me the opportunity to stand up not only for truth and the second amendment, but I stood up for me and my husband and everyone who believes in the Constitution. (I was relieved that my husband didn’t join me in the discussion because it would have gotten more vocal.) I also stood up for freedom and for our country.

I plan to write to the restaurant management. They should have a policy regarding this kind of behavior. In these times, it could happen again. The next time I may not be so nice.