My son loves hanging out at Barnes and Noble. They used to have a train set up and they have plenty of books that you can read without buying. Of course all that just leads to kids saying "can I have this...can I have that." So it does sell stuff. That said, I have noticed over the months that people leave the place a mess and stuff disappears. So although it inspires kids to demand parents buy stuff, it also is a source of pilfered and damaged stuff. In general I felt sorry for them for the damaged and stolen merchandise.

Today the children's area was empty. That's unusual. Often it's quite crowded. Today it was empty. The train set is gone. No surprise. I hear they lost some 150 trains in the span of three months…so no surprise they discontinued that particular sales technique.

I also noticed that there was a cop there. Fully uniformed, on duty cop. That is definitely NOT usual. But, well this has become such a police saturated society that I barely thought anything of it. Police are now watching us EVERYWHERE it seems, either in person or on camera.

Let's think about the context in NYC. Cops now patrol most of the train stations I frequent. I hear at least twice a day, often more, announcements on the subway from the NY Police Department warning us to report suspicious packages and people and to "remain alert." Sometimes it’s a recorded message, sometimes the train conductor gives the message, occasionally cops themselves come on board and deliver the message. Sometimes cops patrol the train car-by-car. There are many ads in the subway telling us that if we see something we should say something to the police. And just this weekend we noticed cops in the local branch of our library, searching everyone's backpacks. We walked in with our son in his stroller with all the various bags and backpacks associated with a kid (beverages, food, toys, cloths, changing pads...) hanging off it. The cops searched it all. They seemed surprised that I found it unappealing that cops were searching our stuff in a public library. It is a sad comment on our society, but it has become omnipresent.

NYC is already saturated with cops. So why not in Barnes and Noble's children's department?

Then I realized the cop had a sidearm. There was a gun in the children's department of Barnes and Noble in Park Slope. A gun within mere yards of my son.

I had one of those sudden really creepy feelings when you realize something is deeply, deeply wrong.

There was a gun...in the children's department...of Barnes and Noble in Park Slope. I realized almost to my surprise that that was just NOT okay with me. I decided it was time to leave. I was suddenly desperate to get my son out of there. There was no way I wanted a gun that close to my son in a toy department.

On the way out I asked to see a manager. I expressed a HUGE discomfort at having a gun in the children's department. I was told that it was a cop that had it so it should be okay. I replied that no...it was NOT okay. I appreciate that they have had problems with pilfering and such and that he was a cop, but that doesn't change the fact that there was a fucking GUN in the CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT of a bookstore. So I told them we won't be coming there if there is a gun near our kid. I should point out that since the children's area was uncharacteristically empty, the cop's main duty seemed to be to flirt with the female sales staff. Our tax dollars at work.

My wife noticed one other odd aspect to this...is the city paying for cops to provide security for private businesses? What about the security guards hired by Barnes and Noble? Why is the city (which means us) paying to have weapons in our children's environment? What is the protocol to get an armed cop providing private security?

And, as my wife asks, what purpose does that pistol have in the children's section? Will they shoot if a four year old tries to steal a toy? What fundamental purpose is there to having a gun in a children’s department of a store?

So, our backpacks are searched in libraries and in train stations. We have frequent announcements and ads telling us to report "suspicious" activity and to be afraid...very, very afraid. Cops patrol everywhere we go, including libraries and inside toy departments. We are, in essence, living in a state of omnipresent police presence.

I have been uncomfortable with ALL of this, and before anyone yammers about 9/11, I was THERE in Manhattan on 9/11, heard the planes hit, lost a friend, the whole deal. And I do NOT feel comfortable with our democracy becoming a police state, no matter how responsible and nice those cops may be. The whole trend is just plain wrong and un-American. I am sure Thomas Jefferson would be agitating for rebellion against all of this, if my reading of his writings is correct.

But when I see a gun in the children's department of our local bookstore, I freak out. No...I will NOT take my son to a place where there is a gun. Barnes and Noble will not get our business as long as a gun is present in the children's department. This is a step so far beyond reason, I cannot believe it is happening.

If you find this disturbing, please contact Barnes and Noble and ask them what their policy as a company is, and why the Park Slope branch of their store allows a gun in the presence of children.

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