Will crossing property lines turn responsible gun owners into violent criminals?

Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 2 January, 2010 | David Codrea

[marktwain]

"Gun laws have some up in arms," reads the gainsvilletimes.com headline:

Potential changes to the state’s gun laws have many wondering what would happen locally if the legislature votes to allow concealed weapons into more public places.

I'm going to wander into Atlanta Gun Rights Examiner Ed Stone's turf today and offer some responses to some of the fears, because they really are more universal than local arguments.

We're warned that men and women with gun carry permits will be able to do so in churches and on college campuses. Or to have their weapons in non-secured airport areas, or on public transit. Or in restaurants and establishments that serve adult beverages.

The primary arguments against "allowing" this?

"They will face stiff opposition from those who argue that tinkering with gun laws could lead to more violence."

and

"Critics, meanwhile, said they worry it could give rise to vigilante justice and jeopardize the public’s safety."

A pastor worries:

"After a while, everybody toting guns around will develop a ‘Wild West’ mentality."

A police chief had this to offer on expanded establishment carry:

“You mix alcohol with firearms and bad things happen”...

See, the "Only Ones" never have access to guns and alcohol at the same time, like in their homes...

The argument seems to boil down to if peaceable armed citizens cross certain property lines, our behavior changes. We degenerate into hot-tempered, remorseless, out-of-control, binge-drinking frat boys and drunken cowboys, ready to blast for any reason--or for no reason at all. Oh, and avenging vigilantes...that's what the antis are calling self-defense these days, isn't it?

[marktwain]

A well reasoned argument.

[goldstategop]

Liberals give a free pass to pantybombers but are worried to no end if we bear arms to protect ourselves!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus

[goldstategop]

This picture says its all:

MOLON LABE!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus

[maddog55]

The anti-gun Liberals would probably find a way to ensure law abiding citizens that use a gun to protect themslves would have no rights and be sent to Gitmo.

[AK_47_7.62x39]

They trot out the same old crap every time a state legislature decides it might trust law abiding citizens to carry. Hysterical rants about shootouts at every corner, and wild bullet filled melees over a dispute at who was first in a Publix check out line.

Gun crime goes DOWN, the more freedom a citizenry has to arm itself. Fortunately, more and more people know it.

Gun control law popularity is at an all time low. Not many areas where we are winning, but this is one we ARE winning.

[Molon Labbie]

They tried the same crap when Missouri was looking at CCW. When it finally passed, it didn’t turn the place into the Wild West.

Didn’t change the crime rate in St. Louis City and the immediate counties but individual protection was achieved, and that was really the mission.

[mountainlion]

11,400,000 gun sales has dropped crime 30-40% in some areas. Liberals don't really think that there is such a thing as private property and don't think they should be confronted while trespassing on your property or rights.

[BuffaloJack]

> “Critics, meanwhile, said they worry it could give rise to vigilante justice and jeopardize the public’s safety.”
Just doing the job the local LEOs are too incompetent to do.

[jwparkerjr]

re: develop a ‘Wild West’ mentality

And his point is . . . ? Frankly I think society would benefit from a few Saturday afternoon public hangings on the courthouse square. Actually drawing and quartering might be even more effective, but in interest of ‘the children’ it’s probably best to stop at hanging.

When I was a kid in a rural Southern town the courthouse had a display of pictures showing the early days of the area. One of them showed a man being hanged out in front of the very courthouse in which we would stand to view the pictures. I can tell you right now, that made a VERY big and lasting impression on a group of sixth-grade boys! We would go out front and try to figure out exactly where the gallows had been. Sounds pretty macabre now, but remember this was nearly 70 years ago and we didn’t have TV or video games or r/c cars to play with, we had to come up with our own fun.

The other picture that fascinated us was one of bodies stacked up in following the storm of 1928. It had drowned some 3,000 people when it moved ashore from the Atlantic and then cut across Lake Okeechobee on its way to the Florida West Coast.