Conceal Carry

The Wisconsin state legislature recently passed a law allowing permitted gun-owners to carry their weapons in a "concealed" way. Many on the Left have reacted strongly.

Personally, I can relate five different episodes in which Left-leaning friends have expressed anything from snorts of contempt, to real emotion-laden gasps of anxiety, when the topic of conceal-carry is brought up. These folks would have us believe that something really bad is happening (or is about to happen) here in the state of Wisconsin.

It drives me nuts.

Professors are anxious about students now coming into their classes to shoot up the lecture hall.

Coworkers are afraid gun-toting idiots will make the workplace a scene from The Godfather.

And, one friend is concerned that we're going to see a spike in violence on police officers, because... (following this strained logic, if you will)... now conceal-carriers will be more likely to go to bars, and drive around with a loaded gun. "So, what are they going to do when they get pulled over for a DUI?"

Why, of course, these gun-toting crazies are going to SHOOT THEIR WAY out of a DUI!!!! It's obvious!

All of these arguments reveal a very acute bigotry on the part of the Left.

Allow me to explain.

First, did you know that it has ALWAYS been allowable/legal to carry a weapon in Wisconsin, as long as it is out in the open? I could stroll down Main Street here in Madison, with a holstered six-shooter on my hip, and it would be perfectly legal. Logical Hurdle #1: Through all these years, were all these Lefties concerned about impending violence because of this gun-toting law? Has Wisconsin been a Wild West town?

Second, did you know that -- prior to passing this conceal-carry bill -- anybody could have walk into any of countless university lecture halls here in Madison, carrying a loaded weapon, and started shooting the place up? (Of course, this would have been illegal. And, it is still illegal. But, it could have happened, with or without the passage of this conceal-carry bill.) We all understand this, right? There is NOTHING preventing this from happening right now, all along, prior to passage of this bill. Logical Hurdle #2: Have all these Lefties been shivering in fear because of this fact? If not... then, why NOW? Why are they NOW afraid, unless they are more afraid of law-abiding, permit-holding gun carriers.

So, I pose the question: Why is it the Left is only NOW beginning to express fear and anxiety about spikes in violence?

The ONLY people who are going to change their behavior, with the passage of this conceal-carry bill, are law-abiding citizens who want the permission of their government to allow them to carry a gun. The crazies... the unhinged fanatics ... the mass-murderers who think God is telling them to shoot congresspersons... well, they don't need any law. They won't apply for a conceal-carry permit. They will do (sadly) whatever their crazy, unhinged, mass-murdering hearts want to do. The passage of this bill does NOTHING to increase the likely hood of them changing their behavior.

So, for the Lefties to express some form of newly-founded grief or anxiety with the passage of this bill, demonstrates their lack of faith in their fellow American.

Personally, I know of two people who have applied for their conceal-carry permit. And, I have absolutely NO concern about their behavior, or my personal safety in their presence. Nor, do I have any concern about the safety of my daughter in their presence, whether they are carrying concealed, or not. (In fact, I could pretty easily say that, at times, I would like to know that one of the good guys has a gun. That fact actually makes me feel SAFER.)

To be fair, I should couch that last paragraph in some disclaimers: I have no more concern for our safety, in the presence of a conceal-carrier, than I do when I am pulling up to an ATM at night... or when I am going into a gas station at night... or when I walk to my car at night, in the poorly lit parking lot of my church.