Howdy today sir wwwiebe! Well sir, as far as the cupcakes, they say they refill the machines each day and several times each day! To make sure they are fresh. I've spent alot of time trying to find the ingredients to see if they have preservatives and they don't list them on their site.

However, I did find out that in their shops they have cupcakes for dogs! lol.

"Pupcakes. We love our dogs too! Made with premium ingredients (such as egg whites, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar substitute, butter, and salt), Sprinkles offers sugar-free pupcakes topped with a yogurt "frosting"."

In regards to the Sheriff only taking Gladys's gun, I think it was mostly a sexist move. It was probably pretty shocking to the men to see a woman carrying a gun, just wasn't proper in those days. lol.

Your other assumptions are really good too though, and probably figured into the decision.