Need Some Advice - Non Budget

[njmomtoone]

I have been with my company for 8 years now. I work in a small, family owned company with about 20 employees inside the office. I receive a letter in the mail from the police department in the town where by boss lives. He put me down as a reference to purchsae a hand gun.

My boss is 68 years old and already owns two handguns. Not even sure why he needs another. One of the questions is does the person have a mental or physical disability. He has macular degeneration and has sight problems with distance. He hasn't had it checked in 3 years so I don't even know if it has gotten worse.

I don't believe in owning guns in my own home, however, I am not against other people owning them. Everyone has their own rights to gun ownership Putting my views aside, I really don't want to sign it or get invovled. We are not friends and I am shocked that he put me down as a reference.

This is such an inappropriate situation to be in and I really wish he didn't try to involve me. I should be able to come to work, do my job and get paid and that's it. I just feel so uncomfortable with the situation.

I feel like I am damned if I do and damned if I don't.

Any thoughts?

 

[SPBendersky]

Hello,

I would explain to my Boss my viewpoint about Hand Guns and let his know you are against owning them personally, and would prefer that he didnt use you as a referance, never mind that his actions were inappropiate. I wuld also before hand write a letter to the human resources dept with explaining the situation and mail it myself before hand so as to have a record of your position and establishing his in appropiate action should any discomfort arise so you would have recourse should he feel slighted.

Regards,
Scot

 

[4EvrDsny]

I'm surprised he used you for a reference without giving you notice first. That takes a lot of guts! I would contact the police department via telephone and ask if your reference is going to be shared with your boss or kept anonymous.

For example, an aquaintance of mine was trying to get into the police academy and I knew that was a big mistake. He had a rather large ego and enjoyed being physically violent with women. When I was contacted by the recruiter to give a reference, I asked if the applicant would find out what I said. No. It was kept from him. So I felt confident telling the officer what I knew and the reasons I felt becoming a officer was a bad mistake. Luckily the other references had the same opinion as me!

You know the right thing to do......so do it

 

[njmomtoone]

Hello,

I would explain to my Boss my viewpoint about Hand Guns and let his know you are against owning them personally, and would prefer that he didnt use you as a referance, never mind that his actions were inappropiate. I wuld also before hand write a letter to the human resources dept with explaining the situation and mail it myself before hand so as to have a record of your position and establishing his in appropiate action should any discomfort arise so you would have recourse should he feel slighted.

Regards,
Scot

I edited my original post. It is a small company and there is no HR department. My boss is the owner.

 

[clh2]

Hello,

I would explain to my Boss my viewpoint about Hand Guns and let his know you are against owning them personally, and would prefer that he didnt use you as a referance, never mind that his actions were inappropiate. I wuld also before hand write a letter to the human resources dept with explaining the situation and mail it myself before hand so as to have a record of your position and establishing his in appropiate action should any discomfort arise so you would have recourse should he feel slighted.

Regards,
Scot

I agree with the stating your comments to your boss that yuo are personally against them and could he find another reference. I would, however, be careful of getting HR involved especially in a company of 20, too many politics, and this isn't a work issue.

 

[LJSquishy]

Well, I always believe in honesty, especially for something like owning a gun. I would either speak with your boss and let him know you aren't comfortable with him using you as a reference, or note his sight problems on the form and send it in. I would probably opt for the latter because really, they should probably be aware of sight issues he may have before approving him for another handgun.

 

[BBandDisney]

There are at least 14 in WDW, only a couple in Disneyland.

 

[LocaRoja]

Am I missing something in this thread? There seems to be more than 1 topic.

 

[Cruise]

Am I missing something in this thread? There seems to be more than 1 topic.

I'm guessing there's something wonky going on with the server updates that are currently happening off and on. I noticed another thread with an odd reply that didn't fit in and assumed someone had just hit the wrong button, but there's several in this thread.

I'm guessing once the server upgrades are done, it'll sort itself out.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'd be very cautious about expressing your feelings about guns with your boss who is clearly a gun enthusiast. If your boss was a golfer would you go out of your way to tell him how much you hate golf? Of course not.

I'd simply say it's really not any of your business and you'd prefer not to be involved and that you hope he understands. If he wants to know why, then tell him. But, don't volunteer the info up front.

 

[scrapquitler]

I have been with my company for 8 years now. I work in a small, family owned company with about 20 employees inside the office. I receive a letter in the mail from the police department in the town where by boss lives. He put me down as a reference to purchsae a hand gun.

My boss is 68 years old and already owns two handguns. Not even sure why he needs another. One of the questions is does the person have a mental or physical disability. He has macular degeneration and has sight problems with distance. He hasn't had it checked in 3 years so I don't even know if it has gotten worse.

I don't believe in owning guns in my own home, however, I am not against other people owning them. Everyone has their own rights to gun ownership Putting my views aside, I really don't want to sign it or get invovled. We are not friends and I am shocked that he put me down as a reference.

This is such an inappropriate situation to be in and I really wish he didn't try to involve me. I should be able to come to work, do my job and get paid and that's it. I just feel so uncomfortable with the situation.

I feel like I am damned if I do and damned if I don't.

Any thoughts?

Can't you just answer the question about his physical impairments in an honest yet objective way? "I am aware that he had issues with macular degeneration several years ago and he wears glasses for near sightedness, but I don't know the current status of his condition"

You have been truthful, you haven't done anything inappropritate, and the officials can decide if further investigation is warranted. And you have left your personal bias out of it.

 

[ZehnJahren]

If you received a letter in the mail from the police department, just reply to that letter and say you do not feel comfortable being a reference. Period, end. You are not the only reference for this guy. And even if you said "ABSOLUTELY, give this guy a gun!" the police will make their own call on it; I can't imagine they'd contact the man and say "oh, your employee said no, so we didn't give you a gun." They'll keep it to themselves and make a decision based on their records and the references.

Your reference will not give this guy the gun he wants, it will only be added to the police's list of reasons why they should or should not allow it.

 

[starry_solo]

Why don't you just not respond to the letter? You're not required to do so.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Why don't you just not respond to the letter? You're not required to do so.

Probably the best advice so far.


Side note: I find it very odd that the police would ask what are basically just people off the street if a particular person is fit to own a gun or not. Weird.

 

[starry_solo]

Probably the best advice so far.


Side note: I find it very odd that the police would ask what are basically just people off the street if a particular person is fit to own a gun or not. Weird.

Thanks Gumbo. I do find it odd, but I think of it as a background check wherein the person is supposed to fill out references. The boss put the OP as a reference check (without clearing it first with him/her [also strange since who would put an employee as a reference without first talking to him/her about it]).