Local businesses set own rules for weapons on site
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JACKSON, Tenn. — How you arm yourself while in the building or on the job is up to your boss, according to legal experts we spoke with.
Workplace safety remains a big concern across the country after Wednesday’s fatal shooting of two journalists in Virginia.
“You don’t want anything to happen to anyone on the premises, customers or employees,” said Ginger Kemp, Manger of R&J Feed in south Jackson.
Kemp said they don’t have signs on the door prohibiting weapons. Legally permitted employees are allowed to carry handguns inside. “If they have a license to carry and it’s concealed, then I don’t have a problem with that,” she said.
The majority of employees are not armed with handguns, according to Kemp. However, several keep pocket knives on hand, “because we open a lot of palettes and things like that, so we use knives as a tool,” she said.
The store allows both customers and employees to use personal discretion when it comes to being armed, which is their legal right, according to attorneys we spoke with.
Kemp said she doesn’t like the weapons to publicly show to customers.
But not everyone likes to arm themselves with a gun. “You have to be prepared to use it when you pull it, and you have to be willing to live with the consequences,” Tabitha Washburn, of Damsel in Defense, said.
Washburn, along with two other independent pros, sell Damsel in Defense products.
Created by women primarily for women, the line offers several stun guns, pepper sprays, alarms and other personal safety devices.
Washburn admits the items might not compare to a gun but do offer protection. “Pepper spray that shoots 16-feet in front of you, you’ve got the opportunity to blind that gunman and people could take him down,” she said.
Tennessee employees have been legally allowed to keep guns in personal vehicles since 2013. Attorneys said statutes are in place now protecting employees from wrongful termination if they do bring a gun onto work property.
For more information on the Damsel in Defense products, visit www.damselindefense.net.
