>What if CJ was a cop, or an ex-cop, or the group was planning for the right moment to kill the owner, beat the waitress to death, steal the money, and burn the joint down?<
You can "what if" all you want. A weapon in a civilized society is for self defense. If they were molesting the staff, don't show the weapon, use the weapon.
They were not robbing the place. They were not hurting anybody. We don't even know if they were even being that loud.
If you are packing, it is your responsiblity to have a thick skin and demonstrate better than average judgement.
Ditto - If you all can "what if" it to death, so can I.