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The people of many states have decided to enact concealed handgun laws. Of course the purpose of these laws are to allow citizens to carry handguns for protection.
In a perfect world, there would be no need for weapons. In a perfect world, a magical anti-gun legislation could actually remove ALL guns from the land. But, there's no way to do that. There are so many guns floating around the USA that the bad guys will always have access to one or more of them. Need to illegally obtain a gun? Break into a house and take one.
The people of many states have required a background check and some type of training in order to carry a concealed handgun. This is a good thing. Now, we see many businesses across the country have decided to second-guess the people and are prohibiting the carrying of licensed firearms on their property. You've probably seen the signs posted outside malls and other establishments. I've never seen one of those signs that address the criminal and his or her handgun. They only address the law abiding, licensed gun owner.
What do these signs really say? They say to all the crazies out there that this is a good place to go on a shooting rampage because chances are that there will be no one inside to challenge you. Law abiding citizens, by their very nature, will obey the warning signs and not bring their handguns onto posted property. The criminal, especially the crazies, couldn't care less about such posted warnings.
It's a sad thing that we have to carry concealed handguns, but that's just the way it is. The handgun issue is sort of like the nuclear weapons issue. Nuclear weapons, for better or worse, have been invented and there's no way to put the nuclear "genie" back inside the bottle. Millions of firearms have been manufactured and there are no laws or confiscation procedures that can make them go away.
My message to you is to be on double alert when inside such premises. Know where the exits are located. Watch everyone. Take care of your business and get out. Even if you are not a licensed handgun owner, you should feel safer inside businesses that allow the carrying of licensed firearms.
Talk to those business owners who have rejected the presence of licensed handguns on their property. Assure them that we are not going back to the "wind, wild, west", and that if we are, then it's time for it!
Maynard