Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

First, Carry No Gun: Police Chief Gets Inhospitable Reception at Texas Medical Clinic

Friday, August 18, 2017

First, Carry No Gun: Police Chief Gets Inhospitable Reception at Texas Medical Clinic

We recently reported on claims that “gun safety advocates” in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have given a U.S. Marine Corps. veteran an untenable choice: custody of his grandson or his constitutional right to possess a loaded firearm.  Now, from Texas – of all places – comes a similar tale of a police chief who was told he could receive medical care from a Woodlands ear, nose & throat clinic … but only if he took off his duty sidearm and left it outside the building.

Conroe Police Department Chief Philip Dupuis made it clear, moreover, that this was not an innocent case of mistaken identity. “My badge is clearly displayed,” he told the Washington Times of the incident. “I have my lanyard on with ‘police’ on my ID card hanging around my neck. I had handcuffs.” 

Nevertheless, the receptionist at Texas Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists (Texas E.N.T.) told him in front of a lobby full of other people he would not be treated unless he complied with the practice’s “no-gun” policy. “I have never been so embarrassed … in my 35 years of law enforcement,” Dupuis noted in a Facebook post about the incident. 

Chief Dupuis went on to state that he took up the matter with officer managers at two separate locations of Texas E.N.T., including the one where his usual doctor normally practices. Their responses, he said, were unsatisfactory.

Later, however, the practice’s business manager called the chief to personally apologize.  “Our company values law enforcement officers and first responders for their selfless service and will serve them and our communities with the utmost respect,” a clinic representative told the Times. 

Let’s be clear: Anti-gun extremists have reached the point where they are not only detached from legitimate concerns about public safety or “guns in the wrong hands” but simply want anyone with a gun (no matter who or what the reason) to know they have no place in the world they wish to create. Theirs is not a creed of “live and let live.” It is one of dogmatic and reflexive bigotry. 

 

The company also apologized and disavowed the incident on its own Facebook page

Texas Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists will continue to treat armed law enforcement officers who have the appropriate identification. Again, we sincerely apologize to Chief Dupuis for the situation and the embarrassment he may have felt. We will make every effort to ensure this does not happen again in any of our locations.

Whether any Texas E.N.T. employees were disciplined in connection with the matter, however, is unclear. Chief Dupuis also said he has not heard from the Texas E.N.T. doctor who usually treats him.

Private businesses are generally entitled to determine for themselves the rules that govern the carrying or possession of firearms on their premises, just as gun owners are free to determine the businesses they will (and will not) support. Most reasonable people can live with that arrangement.

But it’s hard to divorce what happened to Chief Dupuis from the larger current of the medical profession’s institutional (and unscientific) bias against firearms and their owners and the animosity that has increasingly greeted police personnel at various private businesses. Neither phenomenon is reasonable or justified. 

Let’s be clear: Anti-gun extremists have reached the point where they are not only detached from legitimate concerns about public safety or “guns in the wrong hands” but simply want anyone with a gun (no matter who or what the reason) to know they have no place in the world they wish to create. Theirs is not a creed of “live and let live.” It is one of dogmatic and reflexive bigotry. 

This explains why people like Doris Greggs White – who identifies herself as a “healthcare professional” – continue to support the way Chief Dupuis was originally treated. Responding to Texas E.N.T.’s apologetic Facebook post, Greggs White wrote: 

I feel you had no reason to apologize to this crybaby cop. he and his ilk have slandered you. you have every right to protect your staff and other patients. they can only whine about blue lives mattering although medical staff are under increasingly more frequent and severe attacks by patients and their [angry] families. he claims to have never been more [angry] in his career-over this?! if he's that unstable he should not be armed and should be banned from your facility. 

Their words and their actions speak for themselves. 

 

TRENDING NOW
Wisconsin: Legislation Updating the Definition of Muzzloader Signed by Governor Evers

Friday, March 15, 2024

Wisconsin: Legislation Updating the Definition of Muzzloader Signed by Governor Evers

Yesterday, the governor signed Wisconsin Act 116, formally Senate Bill 587, into law. This legislation establishes a new definition for “muzzleloaders” that would allow for the use of innovative technological advancements that could benefit sportsmen, ...

Colorado: General Assembly Continues to Follow California's Lead; Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled For Hearing

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Colorado: General Assembly Continues to Follow California's Lead; Semi-Auto Ban Scheduled For Hearing

The Colorado General Assembly continues to follow California's lead when it comes to gun control, this year already pushing for an 11% Excise tax on firearms/ammunition and now pursuing a ban on commonly owned semi-automatic ...

Maine: NRA Fires Back Against Gun Grabbers

Friday, March 15, 2024

Maine: NRA Fires Back Against Gun Grabbers

For months, anti-gun politicians and gun-grabbing groups have been running wild in Augusta, spreading misinformation about firearms in a desperate attempt to pass the most extreme gun-control in the country. The proposals carry the same theme, ...

Delaware: Senate Passes Maryland-Style Permit to Purchase Scheme

Friday, March 15, 2024

Delaware: Senate Passes Maryland-Style Permit to Purchase Scheme

Last night, the Delaware Senate passed Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) by a vote of 15 to 6. This extreme legislation will impose a Maryland-style “handgun qualified purchase card” and a handgun transfer ...

Virginia: More than a Dozen Anti-Gun Bills Sent to the Governor!

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Virginia: More than a Dozen Anti-Gun Bills Sent to the Governor!

The newly elected Virginia General Assembly has prioritized restricting law-abiding citizens' Second Amendment rights and has made good on that priority this session. This year, dozens of anti-gun bills have been considered in both chambers ...

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced in General Assembly

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Introduced in General Assembly

Anti-Gun extremist State Reps. Tim Hernandez (D-04) and Elisabeth Epps (D-06) introduced House Bill 24-1292, a bill banning the manufacturing, importing, purchasing, selling, offering to sell, or transferring ownership of so called “assault weapons”. 

Appropriations Bill Passes with Language Protecting Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

News  

Monday, March 11, 2024

Appropriations Bill Passes with Language Protecting Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

Last week, Congress approved a package of legislation to fund various government agencies that corrects a longstanding and shameful practice that had been depriving American veterans of their Second Amendment rights since 1998.

Washington Post’s Somewhat Pro-Gun Column Inadvertently Exposes Problem with Mandatory Storage Laws

News  

Monday, March 11, 2024

Washington Post’s Somewhat Pro-Gun Column Inadvertently Exposes Problem with Mandatory Storage Laws

We generally don’t expect to see the Washington Post say anything positive about firearms or law-abiding gun owners, although there are occasional Op-Eds from pro-Second Amendment lawmakers, unbiased researchers and Constitutional scholars, and the like.

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes Committee and Hearings Postponed Due to Weather

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes Committee and Hearings Postponed Due to Weather

Today, HB 24-1348 which mandates how firearms must be stored in unattended vehicles, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and is now eligible for a final vote on the House Floor. Please contact your lawmakers by using the ...

Face the Nation Airs ATF Propaganda

News  

Monday, March 11, 2024

Face the Nation Airs ATF Propaganda

Those worried that Biden’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was so busy harassing well-meaning gun dealers and owners that it had forgotten about its biennial tradition can rest easy. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.