What Is Goin’ On?

Just this week the news was full of the nut that went around the parking lot of a church in Colorado shooting people and was gunned down by a church security guard. Graveyard dead!

Not too long ago the Virginia Tech murders made us wonder whether there was any safe place left in the world. That guy wasn’t shot by someone else, but at least he saved us the trouble of a trial and killed himself.

Is there any place that is safe in today’s world? I really don’t think there is. However, the chance is slim that our paths will cross the path of some crazy on a day when death is in the air. If I honestly thought I would arrive at that crossroad where my life were threatened, I would do whatever it took to protect myself, including toting a gun.

The quandry, at least in Georgia, is why don’t I have the right to tote that gun just in case that slim chance of encountering a crazy happens today? If the paths cross at my home, I can shoot to kill in self-defense. If they cross in my car, basically the outcome is the same. I can protect myself in my car. But, in Georgia it is basically illegal to carry a gun in broad daylight on the streets and in public places. If I carry that gun to protect myself in the parking lot of my church or Walmart or whereever other people have the right to be, I am probably breaking the law in Georgia.

And, as Shakespeare would say, therein lies the rub and it is that rub which GeorgiaCarry.org wants to change. John Monroe, V.P. of Georgia Carry, makes no apology for wanting the right to carry a gun just about anywhere he wants to go, Walmart, church, the park, and elsewhere. John is an attorney from Roswell, Georgia and specializes in Second Amendment issues. I may be oversimplifying John’s point, but as I understand it, John and Georgia Carry believe that if the Second Amendment gives them the right to carry a gun (to protect themselves), the laws of Georgia should not eviscerate that right by saying you can’t carry the gun in public places where you might need to protect yourself.

Where can you carry a gun legally in Georgia? That is not an easy question to answer and don’t take this blog as a legal opinion you can rely upon. You may go to jail. However, most of us understand that we can have a gun at home and in the car. But, the dangers we face of a deadly nature exist in places other than home or car (there may be issues of concealment, but that is another interview). What about on a college campus? Not in Georgia! What about at a public gathering of people who tote guns? Probably not in Georgia. Exactly where can an ordinary citizen can carry a gun is not easy to say, but let me offer this as a rule of thumb: Don’t take a gun anywhere outside of your home or car if you can see another person. I must agree with John that this really doesn’t make much sense.

I am not opposed to gun registration or certain levels of gun control, but I firmly believe that I have a constitutional right to own a gun and protect myself, my family and my property. Having said that, it does seem strange to me that the exercise of this constitutional right is so limited in Georgia.

To my surprise, John told me that Georgia has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. According to John there are states which actually allow you to carry a gun to a public event, like a sports stadium. That sounds so strange, and I can only conclude it must simply be the result of being raised in Georgia.

The thing I am dealing with is why does John Monroe’s desire to carry a gun into public places make me uncomfortable? If my friend who is a Vietnam veteran went with me to Walmart toting a gun, I would feel perfectly safe. I know that I would feel safer than if I went without him. So why don’t I want some person I don’t know toting a gun. They might be a Vietnam veteran, as well. Or they could be nuts!

You can take either side of this issue (toting guns in public) and logically argue the outcome you personally prefer. But, as John points out: it is a constitutional right. Not much argument there, but if voting is a constitutional right that can’t be unnecessarily restricted, why isn’t bearing a gun equally sacrosanct?

Having thought about this more than usual, I am sure of one thing. The reason that I would feel uncomfortable if I saw strangers walking around the parking lot at Walmart with guns on their hips is primarily because I am unfamilar with guns in general or people that tote them.

So should we balance the right to carry a gun in public places with the fear that the person carrying the gun will kill us? I will have to think about that some more, but it does seem to me that if it actually works elsewhere in the USA, we might try it in Georgia.

While John might not agree, if someone really wants to tote a gun in public, I would not be opposed to requiring them to demonstrate proficiency in gun safety and be subject to background checks. At least then, when I saw them with a gun on their hip in the Walmart parking lot, I would have some basis to assume they are a responsible person and not a crazy!