This was trending yesterday on Memeorandum, and is an interesting bit of food for thought
(Tampa Bay Tribune) Ivette Ros grew up in a house where her father kept guns. For her, it was a natural step to get a concealed weapons permit and then to carry a 9 mm handgun.
The 37-year-old Tampa resident is a single mother of three children and said she carries the gun for safety.
“It’s just something about having it versus not having it,†she said. “I feel naked when I don’t have my gun.â€
Her employer didn’t feel the same way. Carrying the gun got her fired, she said.
Ros has filed a lawsuit in circuit court against Wells Fargo Bank, which she said fired her last year from her job as manager at the bank’s Oldsmar branch. Her lawsuit says the firing violated her constitutional right to carry arms and asks for monetary damages and attorney fees.
She usually leaves it in her car, but sometimes has it concealed on her or in her purse. She has a legal concealed carry permit. Someone at work saw it and complained. Wells Fargo’s rules are very clear that there are to be no weapons on property.
My take is that she has no case. Wells Fargo, as a private business, has every right to set the terms of employment and to restrict weapons on property. Surely Ms. Ros was informed of the weapons policy when she started working there, and as the manager, should have been well aware of the policy, as she would have needed to enforce it.
The 2nd Amendment is about restrictions on the Government, not private businesses on private property. She could have asked the company for a waiver. She could have simply left it in her vehicle at all times. She chose to bring it into the bank, apparently many times, in violation of the rules of the company. This is her personal responsibility, her actions, and she is the one to pay for it.
Flastertein disagrees. He says the concealed weapons permit gave Ros the right to carry her gun into work.
“She’s a good person who elected to defend herself as she is constitutionally permitted,†Flasterstein said. “The second amendment is not a privilege. It’s a freakin’ right.â€
Flastertein is her lawyer. He’s correct that it is a Right. One that, again, restricts Government, not a private company. Most companies restrict freedom of speech when it comes to discussing the company. Most now have social media policies. These are the terms of working for that company. Don’t like it? Work somewhere else. Go start you own business.
Call me cynical, but I’m betting she and her lawyer are looking for a settlement.
