26 June 2009

Right to carry things too far

The New York Times has an editorial that, for once, might be right about guns:
Beyond farce in statehouse politics — think New York, Illinois and South Carolina — there can be danger. Think Tennessee, where the Legislature just overrode the governor’s veto and rescinded a law barring patrons from carrying handguns in bars and restaurants.
Once again, politicians caved to the gun lobby’s “right to carry” agenda which insists that there is no place— campuses, workplaces, churches— that should be off limits to guns.
We fear that Governor Phil Bredesen, a gun owner and hunter, was right when he warned his state: “It’s an invitation to a disaster.”
The governor found no safety in provisions that ban the licensed gun toters from drinking alcohol— is it the honor system or will bartenders do a search?— and allow bar and restaurant owners to opt out by posting a notice prohibiting guns. Unfortunately, there is no requirement for owners to post warnings of the dangers inside at the doorways of gun-friendly places.
The pity is that more than thirty states have similar laws. Travelers might want to check for sensible places to eat, unless they really believe the gun lobby’s propaganda that an armed diner at the next table offers an extra comfort.
Another measure to allow licensed teetotaling owners to pack concealed guns in restaurants is making progress in Arizona, where Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed the idea four years ago. Now that Ms. Napolitano has gone to Washington to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security, the Legislature is at full gun play, with the bill’s sponsor insisting there’s nothing “inherently evil” in mixing guns and liquor.
Not all of the news is bad. In Texas, the Legislature enacted a ban on the mentally ill buying weapons and sidetracked proposals to allow guns on campus and in the workplace. The latter two died in Missouri and Alabama, too. And in Colorado, Governor Bill Ritter vetoed legislation designed to gut the regulation of gun shows.
So, reason and public safety can prevail against the gun lobby. And, while the restaurant industry seeks some meager “compromise” language in the Arizona bill, why not consider an alternative? Karaoke is good for business, so why not offer fast-draw virtual shootouts? It is the only way we would feel safe about guns in bars.
Rico says he's all for carrying concealed, but he's seen a few drunks in bars who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a gub, much less carrying one...

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