Would You Break The Law? – One of the biggest things to come out of the multiple concealed carry cases this past few weeks is that a good guy with a gun does in fact stop a bad guy with a gun. In one of those cases, the Eli Dickens of Indiana was carrying Constitutionally in a mall that had posted that it was a gun-free zone. While this didn’t seem to stop the would-be shooter, which is shocking to all of us because we all know criminals absolutely follow the laws, apparently the only people who are law-abiding citizens would willingly disarm themselves. This brings up an interesting debate because Eli was able to neutralize the threat in 15 seconds because he was carrying but was at risk of breaking a law or committing trespassing (depending on the state) and in some it could be a criminal case. So, the question is, what would you do?
I am not a lawyer, I have stated this numerous times, and I am not encouraging anyone to break the law. That said, as a thought experiment, it is interesting to see what would you do. Do you carry it anyway when you see that sign? Do you go to an entrance without the sign on it? Do you blatantly disregard it? Do you not give that place your money?
Unfortunately, there are more and more companies that are saying they don’t want people to carry in their restaurants, stores, or places of worship. One of the first ones I remember was Buffalo Wild Wings several years ago, and I used to frequent there once a week for trivia and wings. After they put up their sign, three of my buddies and I all said we would not go back to their store ever again. If you figure we spent $400/month at the time, it likely did not hurt them but collectively if we all did it, maybe it would change. When Dicks Sporting Goods decided to arbitrarily raise their ages for firearms, it cost them millions in business, and I will never go there either. I am a huge fan of voting with my money, which is why Target and others are not getting our families’ money.
So back to the question, do you risk carrying despite it being a “gun-free zone”? In some states, if they don’t have the regulation sign, it technically doesn’t mean anything. The best that someone can do if it is not a government building is to ask you to leave if they see it. With the Original holster, the chances of it being seen would be incredibly small, unless you are open carrying. If you need to go someplace that has this restriction, it is up to you and your risk tolerance, but I know that I am much more inclined to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Now with governmental buildings like schools, post offices, and political offices, there is an actual crime that could be assigned and strip you of your legal rights to carry if caught. I do find it interesting that the police in Indiana decided not to press charges against Eli, despite the leftist gun grabbers being infuriated that he broke a law to save all those people. Apparently, they are more ok with the shooter carrying out his plan instead of someone stopping him. Why is it that those who want to disarm law-abiding gun owners hate this case? It’s because dead bodies mean more support for their cause of banning everything because they are too weak to defend themselves and therefore you shouldn’t be able to either.
Author: Ian Bolser