While on an unexpected trip to Ohio over the Christmas holiday, I noted a very disturbing sign on a franchised establishment. Ordinarily I discuss the posting prohibiting concealed carry in an establishment with the manager or owner, but this time I did not due to a time restraint. I tell most of our classes that I will always respect an establishment’s right to restrict guns being brought into their place of business, so long as they respect my decision NOT to patronize their business. It is unfortunate that there are people out there who are this misinformed. They truly do not realize that the only persons who have guns in a gun-free zone are those who have no regard for the law. This makes those of us who obey the law, sitting ducks with a target painted on our heads. Defenseless against a mentally challenged person who has a beef to settle. Any gun-free zone is unsafe to be in at any time. Concealed Carry Handgun permittees have been investigated, finger printed, and had their mental health records searched for anything obviously wrong. They are vetted against very strict standards before being issued the permit to carry a handgun concealed in the state of North Carolina. They have already proven their worthiness of this privilege. Rarely do you hear about a CCH permittee being arrested for any violent crimes. It just doesn’t happen.
Every week, we hear incidents from our students where a firearm in the hands of a “good guy” could have prevented a situation from ever happening. Please try to educate your business owner friends who post that they are creating an unsafe environment in their business.
Our friends over at North Carolina Grass Roots have set up a way to report such establishments and have them posted as an unsafe place of business. Check out their High Risk Restaurants Project prior to going out to eat. If you notice a restaurant which has signs posted that are not already listed here. follow the procedures to make sure that it gets listed as a High Risk Restaurant. Help me to educate America one person at a time.