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Shannon Watts’ Michael Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America has worked its PR magic on compliant, easily bullied retail operators like Starbucks, Chili’s and Panera. The anti-gunners have learned that if you gin up a dozen or so “moms” with too much time on their hands, issue a couple of press releases and pout piteously for the local TV news cameras that inevitably roll up, you’ve got a decent shot at extracting something you can tout as a victory. In the case of the above bidnesses, those “wins” were firearms non-bans, artfully crafted corporate communiqués letting customers know that the companies in question would prefer that their customers leave their firearms at home. Or in the car. These are meaningless gestures in practical terms, but the Moms get to issue another press release claiming victory, do a little Snoopy dance and move on to their next target . . .

As we’ve noted, Kroger has told the Moms and their grandstanding founder to go peddle their papers somewhere else. And now another attempt to deliver what are no doubt bogus signatures to an Ohio Kroger store has been met with what body language experts might call a “closed off response” by the manager. As you’d expect, that act of defiance has led to the Moms stamping their little feet and throwing a hissy fit.

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It’s just so frustrating when people won’t listen to reason (or misinformed, willfully ignorant demands) isn’t it? Good on Kroger for refusing to cave to the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex’s efforts to mau-mau them into compliance. We’re sure that the People of the Gun will show their appreciation for Kroger’s stand against Anti-Gun Bullies in appropriate ways.

 

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119 COMMENTS

  1. OMG that woman has a BINDER OF signatures ! A BINDER ! She has to a:

    1. sexist
    2. racist
    3. right wing nut (oh wait she’s a MOM. She can’t be a right wing nut)
    4. homophobe
    5. microbe

    • “Professional” astroturf hireling. I’ll bet photo comparison with every libtard and community organizing festival within 500mi of Ohio you’ll find those two “moms”. Paid outrage. “Where be our foodstamps”.

      • The number listed in the MOMs post to contact Kroger:

        888-829-3790

        Is their own front end number for harassing Kroger. The greeting instructs you to tell Kroger your zipcode, (some other stuff I can’t remember), that you oppose open carry and, basically, bend to our will.

        Your call is then forwarded on to Kroger. I left a very Kroger-positive support msg thanking them for the “we trust our customers” and abiding by local and state law stance, and that I would certainly be shopping with them more because of they didn’t cave to a special interest group of bullies.

        Use up the MOM’s phone lines! Cost them $$ to send your support to Kroger! CALL NOW!! CALL OFTEN! The Moms will be billed for all usage!!!!

        Woo Hoo!

        • I called using it. I had the CS rep pass me up and down their service managers telling them I appreciate them treating people like grown-ups and refusing to change policies because of mom-bullying. They all had a good chuckle.

        • Don’t you see. This all part of their control of the message. I’m sure they have a paid person who listens to each message before it is sent on to Kroger. Then dump the messages that don’t fit the message they want. It is a 800 number so they do get charged for the call. Sounds like a good number to send a fax to with repeat attempts set to 999.

          Always remember they have just as much respect for the first amendment as they do for the second. Maybe even less. It’s hard to tell sometimes.

    • Wrong. Kroger knows their customer demographic better than MDA. Their stores are primarily located in pro Second Amendment territory and a cave to MDA will lost them far more business than they will gain by giving in.

        • Right and wrong. If that pressure is coming form people who don’t represent their key demographic then they will ignore it. You are assuming that Kroger doesn’t know who shops there. They know who shops in their stores and it is not the MDA demographic.

        • Kroger also knows the futility of bending to ineffectual but loud grandstanding. I’m sure that the Demanding Moms aren’t the first pack of rqaving loonies that they’ve encountered. Corporate will do what benefits Kroger, not the loons.

        • There is reason that MDA target Target and not Walmart. The presumed Target demographic is fearfull soccer moms while Walmart is for gun crazy Billy Bob. Shannon and Co did not do their homework on the Kroger customer demographic. It is made up of the same kind of people who shop at Walmart instead of Target. They seem to have confused Kroger and Whole Foods.

    • I live in an area with shall issue– but I made a point to write to Kroger’s that I’ll now be shopping at Ralph’s (a kroger company) given their respect for 2A and simply abiding by the laws reflecting the desires of the majority of citizens where their stores are located.

      I’ll be calling the number now as well– to let them know they gained a customer due to their policies…

      • By who’s count? Using MDA’s counting strategies, different colors mean different signatures and that’s why they use the 120 count box.

      • What a waste of good paper for bogus appearances.

        Certainly the work of highly distracted, unmotivated but paid drones mindlessly, repetitively doing the meaningless grunt work of making up rhetorical petition “names”, all for a few grass roots…dollars. But hey, Bloomie has plenty of money to throw around in the name of his favorite propaganda enterprise.

        This must be what the 99 per centers do when they aren’t being paid to travel around and ‘protest’ while trashing the environment.

  4. Oh look! There is a phone number and text number where you can show your support. How nice of them.
    10 seconds is all it takes to send a text of support for Kroger, and that’s if you type slow. What are you waiting for!

    • That text message number doesn’t go to Kroger’s, it goes to Everytown For Gun Safety.

      • Yep, found that out after writing this.

        Kroger, I have been going to your Wilmington Island store in Savannah, Georgia ever since I can remember. My mother shops there and I followed in her footsteps and go there as well. I know that you have been getting a flood of messages as of late on the issue of weapons in your stores. I write this to explain that I am a gun owner. I do carry a concealed weapon every time I enter your store. I do it for the safety of my wife, others around me, your employees, and myself. I do not make a show of it. I do it because it is not only my right but, my responsibility to protect the lives of the innocent from those who would do them harm. Please uphold the rule as it stands. Allow good and caring citizens to protect themselves and others. Thank you for your continued quality and service.
        Cody M,
        Savannah, GA

        The liars. It clearly says text that number to get to connected to Kroger.

        • It’s a way they can screen-out pro-gun responses like yours before Kroger sees them, make sure anti-gun responses get forwarded to Kroger, and build a database of harvested phone numbers for future fundraising or rabble-rousing in that area. Win/win/win for them.

  5. “This Ohio store manager- and some others-refused to accept our petitions and were discourteous, despite the fact that women and mothers make up the majority of their customers.”

    Did you notice how the Demanding Moms pretend to speak for of Krogers’ female customers?

    • Well, Kroger upper management would happily sign that petition, since there is no free speech guarantee on private property (the 1st amendment protects people from government, not private parties). If you don’t believe me, ask any worker that has been intimidated for talking about scary topics like worker organizing and unions on company property.

  7. You know, someone should get Al Gore on this. One cover page with 16 signatures and 500 blank sheets of paper. A tree died so they could have a photo prop. A whole tree. Man bear pig.

  8. So MDA wants policy change and they decide to pressure managers that are maybe 3-4 positions away from the bottom of the corporate ladder? Yeah, that’ll work. :\

    • I wont even pretend to know anything about the corporate structure of Kroger, but are store managers even considered “corporate”? I was under the impression they were not.

      • Hmmm, since Kroger’s is likely a franchise operation I guess they wouldn’t be on Kroger’s corporate ladder at all. So in effect, MDA is barking up the wrong tree. And here I thought ol’ Bloomie knew business.

        EDIT: No, they’re directly run stores so she would be on the ladder. She’s just on a longer ladder and near the bottom at that. The kid that works the mail room at corporate probably has just as much pull.

      • Kroger store managers, assistant managers, and department managers have weekly phone meetings with district managers. That’s about as corporate as they are. Other than that, a district manager drops in every few weeks to walk through the store. At least that’s how it was at the store I worked at.

  9. Because of course when a group gets a certain number of signatures (real or fabricated) a business is supposed/required to bend to their will and agree to their demands, no matter how ridiculous.

    Perhaps they were “discourteous” to these worse-than-useless humans because they can’t seem to understand the word “NO” or have no concept of not at least pretending to get their way. Even when whining about this they still try to claim some kind of victory because some people from Kroger told them something other than no.

    • Petitions for the political process are vetted / verified usually by the Registrar of Voters.

      These Bloomberg generated propaganda pieces the Moms are calling petitions are meaningless paper pulp.

      With Bloomberg-Watts, it’s all about appearances, leverage, and the Con.

    • As has been mentioned several times here regarding similar stories, Kroger’s policy is to follow local, state, and federal laws. MDA definitely IS barking up the wrong tree with their FakeBook list of Demanding Moms. Doesn’t matter whether if it’s For Tha Kidz or not.

    • Do you think that “Please leave this store of I’ll have to call the police” qualify as something other than no?

      • When I said they got another answer than no from “some” I was referring to the comment in the screenshot where MDA claims that several managers took their petitions and that Kroger management was taking their concerns into consideration. Whether it happened or not I would rate that as being told something other than a flat no for that specific. Again I said only by some (rather than several according to MDA) and I didn’t mean to claim it even happened. I only pointed it out as an example of even when they receive an overwhelming no they search for a way to claim that is not what they were told.

  10. Clearly just a photo op by mda. The local manager can do one of two things with a petition. Ship it to district manager, or throw it away. Hey, MDA! get your photocopied petitions together and deliver it to Kroger corp headquarters. Already did? Then why going local? Oh yeah.. more photo ops.

  11. A big thanks to the nagging moms for providing me with Kroeger’s phone number. I hope everyone will join me in calling them and thanking them for their stand.

  12. Poor Kroger. I’m sure they just want to be left the hell alone and some group of bullies won’t stop pestering them. #biddybully

    • If the annoying action moms don’t agree with the store’s policy then by all means, go and shop somewhere else. Don’t these women have more important things to do? Their biggest problem is law abiding citizens carrying guns at a grocery store? If they really wanted to change anything, they would come down to Newark or Camden, NJ and talk the gang bangers out of killing each other and innocent bystanders. But something tells me they don’t care about that. I swear, people with too much free time on their hands end up making life more miserable for the rest of us.

      • Exactly. Put up (stop shopping there) or shut up.

        The fact that they continue to visit the stores (with legally armed customers still present) with binders, or signs, or whatever, tells me that:

        A) They really aren’t scared to be there.
        B) They really won’t stop shopping there.

  13. Every person of the gun that shops at a Kroger’s should send a receipt from their last 5 or so shopping trips there (personal information black out) along with a Thank You note for standing up for our rights.

  14. The way they word all of their Facebook posts really grinds my gears. They act like millions of innocent children are gunned down everyday in Krogers across the country. I have not seen them post an ounce of unarguable data on their page. If you’re so right then why the need to misinform and often down right lie?

    • Did a three-day e-mail back-and-forth with a HuffPo anti-gun writer about that very issue: why do they have to use inflated numbers and cooked statistics to make their case if they are right? Never got a straight-up response. Closest I got was an accusation that I was just “quibbling about numbers”. And obviously this was one of the more courteous and, for lack of a better term, “open-minded” antis–after all, she did continue the discussion for three days .

  15. The phone number they provide does not appear to be the direct line to Kroger. It provides voice instructions on what to say ( Apparently MDA thinks there supporters are not able to articulate their position) and then connects you to Kroger.

    I recommend every one calls using the Number MDA provides, have a chuckle at the message, then let them Cross connect you to Kroger. MDA is most likely paying for every call they transfer, lets help them spend some of Bloomberg’s money.

  17. It says several managers did take their petitions, I’d like to see the names and locations, you know just to put in the old “lie-o-meter” to see if there is any truth in their post.

    • Maybe they did take the signatures. Who knows what they did with them if they did. Honestly, I’d probably take them just to get those Xanax poppers off my back so I could work and toss it right into the compactor.

  18. Not sure what they’re whining about. Kroger would let them walk around the store all day with a binder of papers, whether the signatures were bogus or not.

    I suspect an OC’er would’ve gotten a cool response,too, when attempting to hand a weapon to the manager.

    Sounds like equal treatment to me .

  20. I used the number to call Kroger to inform them I support them and asked that they continue to tell MDA to go pound sand and sent the same in a text to MDA I got after making the call.

  21. That kid in the background looks absolutely worn and seems to understand the role of being a prop.

    I feel bad for that child.

    • We have them all over the place in the DFW area. Nice stores but I normally shop at Tom Thumb because I like their “Organics” product line.

  23. 300,000 signatures? Is that all they could get from their “2 million dedicated supporters” (not to speak of the population at large nationwide)? Not even considering the possibility that, in the usual “progressive” fashion, a goodly percentage of those signatures are from children, transients paid in cigarettes, domestic animals, and the deceased, that’s still a miniscule number for a nationwide campaign. I doubt any of the managers were actually “discourteous”–but if they were, what does that say about MDA’s real clout? Can you imagine any retail -store MANAGER being discourteous to ANYBODY?

  24. I called and thanked Kroger for having a backbone. The representative sounded relieved to hear somebody who wasn’t bitching. I thanked Kroger for their gun policy and assured them that as a CHL, I will continue to shop in their stores in a safe and responsible manner. Then I got a text from Everytown. Dirp.

  25. I just called Kroger’s customer service line. (I didn’t use MDA’s line in case Kroger management is using their telecom reporting to show how many calls are coming in from MDA’s line, I didn’t want to inflate that stat. I just Googled for it.) I was on hold for a couple of minutes, then a CSR picked up. I gave her my spiel about how I was out & about last night with my sidearm that I carry for personal protection and dropped by a Fry’s (Kroger brand) for about $20 worth of stuff. There are other grocery stores in my neighborhood that prohibit firearms (it’s a criminal trespass beef to carry in a posted location in AZ) and I was glad to give Fry’s my business under the circumstances. She thanked me for my comments, said she’d get that in her notes for the call and then transfer me somewhere else, which turned out to be a voicemail box. I assume they are sending all of the pros & antis to that same VM box so someone can go through them and tally them up. With the VM box, I got to the point quickly in case the VM has a time limit on it, but pretty much gave my spiel over again.

    Please do the same.

    Fresh & Easy, Sprouts and Whole Foods are all posted near me, and a Fry’s is the closest grocery store to my house by probably a mile or more. I’d have to drive past two Fry’s to get to a Safeway. If Kroger posts, I’ll be pissed.

    • There is a Sprouts in FtWorth that has a big 30.06 sign in front window. The wife was told how good this store is and we went way out of our way to get there. Upon walking up to the entrance, she spotted the sign and turned around. “We will not be going in there” she said, “its not safe.” I just said OK, got back in the truck and left. Both of us are CHL holders, but she really surprised me with her comment and action.

      With the both of us its not about not patronizing any business that bans guns, we don’t go in because only the UN-law abiding will be present and statistically unsafe. But the result is the same, they don’t get our money. And we are a bit safer not going in.

      • I used to go to the Sprouts in Frisco but that was before I had my CHL so I didn’t notice the “30.06”. If that’s a company-wide thing, I won’t be going there anymore…besides, Market Street is much better and they do allow CHL holders.

  26. I wonder if they ever noticed that their made-up word, “gunsense,” has a lot in common with the word “nonsense.” Spelling, syllables, emphasis, length,…but mostly its meaning.

  27. To whom it may concern;
    I have been closely following the harassment you have been receiving from MDA and Michael Bloomberg. As a very pro 2A citizen I deeply appreciate your solid stance and refusal to budge. Please continue to hold your ground and show your support for our country’s constitution. As long as you do I will continue to be a patron.
    Thanks

    I just emailed them.
    Free for TTAG copy

  28. If you live in any area that has a Kroger or a subsidiary ( I have Ruler Foods), then call that number the maddogs provide and call Kroger. You have to listen to their guidance on what they want you to say, but you will be connecting to Kroger. At Kroger a very nice operator said thanks for the support and connected me to an extension that records your comments. I left a very supportive message to thank then for their pro 2nd Amendment stand. Later I did receive a text from Maddogsaction thanking me for making the call. I think that will give them a false sense of security. That is unless they read this column and the responses.

  29. Seems that the challenge is to get this message out to the general public. The message that these anti-gun folks are not really winning anything and that they are eroding our rights and making it more dangerous to visit anyplace that goes along with their desires. How do we do that? Perhaps some demonstrations (with bodies and signs but not with guns) right along side of the anti-gun people showing the other side of the arguement. Far often people seem to just go along with something until they hear the other side. Then, they might say “Wow, never thought about it that way. Maybe this anti-gun idea is not such a great idea after all”. I think demonstrating in this type of situation is better done without the guns showing (CCW would be OK IMO) and that doing that might just tend to make many middle-of-the-road folks swing the wrong direction.

  31. i wonder how many of those signatures were done online or in areas without any of those stores in the area of those who signed.

    • I’m gathering they are offering the same 3k signatures to stores in different states, just from the way Shannon’s post is worded. Like I said, a pretty unimpressive number for an internet-based national campaign from a group that claims 2 million “dedicated supporters”.

      • That got me wondering just how many signaturews were collected, say, just after Sandy Hook when the derp was strong, and then padded with signatures collected during later jaunts from various sentient and nonsentient entities.

        • Even if no other hanky-panky is present, you know some of those signatures are from the same kids decked out in those “Gunsense voter” T-shirts by their moms (or grandmoms).

  32. 5 million NRA members and several million more between the other pro 2A groups – how many binders would that fill?

  34. Feminism & all of their associated hot topics are experiencing a huge push-back right now. People are starting to wake up to the inherent inconsistencies in their positions & the illogic / irrationality behind them. This is not to mention the stark contradiction many of their positions have with one another.

    i.e. Rape is the worst thing on the plant to a woman – Women should not have to carry a gun to protect against Rape, just teach men not to rape – Rapists aren’t criminals, Rape isn’t a crime, All men guilty of Rape based solely on accusation, All men are potential Rapists: You could go on & on & on with this. None of it makes a lick of sense.

    Any “activism effort” primarily populated by middle-aged Feminists w an axe to grind & nothing better to do is met today with much more skepticism today than in the recent past. There is also more questioning of their motives and the effectiveness of what they’re asking for than ever before. These are all good things. MDA is doing a fine job discrediting themselves for all the reasons you laid out, but the backlash against Feminism is providing an excellent tailwind.

    • Did you know: having a vagina makes you always right, and immune to accusations of logical inconsistency.

      THE MORE YOU KNOW

    • Yes, I can’t imagine how someone who says “If you put a 12-gauge hole in a would-be rapist you are just encouraging rape culture” could have ever been taken seriously in the first place–but more people do seem to be catching on.

  35. I am of the opinion that Xanax and box wine is not effective in dealing with the issues of MDA members. Something like Haldol and Clozaril might be helpful in dealing with their delusions of grandeur.

  36. I was never a big Kroger fan – but i’m coming around.

    It’s funny that they “petition” a private business for their “grievances.” Kroger is not a belonging of the state. They are a private business and the MDA fan’s opinion is all that which it is – an opinion.

  37. I wonder if anyone has explained how racist Bloomberg/Watts/MDA/EFGS/MAIG etc etc are to the paid “grassroots organizers.” That they don’t give a damn about your sons and daughters dying in urban gang and drug violence. That they are in it to appeal to white mainstream low-info soccer moms, and as long as they get press, they get paid by Bloomberg.

    I particularly enjoyed the TTAG posting about the firearms violence plea-bargain issue in Shannon’s home town (or as close as her suburban gated community allows for).

    A few signs showing up at MDA “rallies” asking them to stop their racist organizing….wonder what HuffPo would think about that.

  40. “However, several managers took our petitions and told members that Kroger management is ‘taking our concerns into consideration.'”

    Bless their hearts. They don’t know what that actually means.

  41. Don’t use the number MDA provided. It says “you will be routed to Kroger,” but it is not Kroger. I’m sure it is an MDA set-up number where they log the callers before forwarding it. Some of you have been receiving MDA texts afterwards, so that’s evidence that the call goes to them and they are logging it as “support” for their position.

  42. “We trust our customers.”

    +1000

    I’m in the Portland metro area, where we don’t have Kroger, but we do have Fred Meyer and Quality Food Stores, both of which are owned by Kroger. Wild guess where I do my grocery shopping…

  43. The primary response I have when someone tries to tell me how to run my store?
    Open your own and run it however you want, asshole.

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