Unconcealed Handgun Laws

There is, at present, a discussion going on about whether patrons in a Starbucks coffee shop in California should allow patrons to carry handguns openly; that is, "visible to all." But the guns cannot be loaded. (The question here is, "Has anyone made sure the weapon is not loaded before the patron entered the shop?")

There is something wrong with this picture. If I wish, as a patron, to push my baby in a stroller into a coffee shop, I could be seated next to a person openly displaying a gun. Of course, I could sit on the other side of the room, but, "Have my rights to feel safe just been trumped by his right to carry an unconcealed weapon?"

A group called OpenCarry.org is trying to draw attention to the Second Amendment right to own and carry guns. Having a gun in one's home - for protection - is different from carrying one in public. Does anyone else see a problem with this concept being carried too far?

Coffee shops are not bars, but this is reminiscent of the Old West. If you've ever faced-off with someone with road rage while getting to the coffee shop, you probably would not feel comfortable about sitting in the same restaurant next to that person, gun or no gun. You would also feel intimidated if that person insisted on being waited on before anyone else, and extra-quickly.

Thirty-eight states allow people to carry guns openly. Only three - Texas, Illinois, and Florida -- prohibit unconcealed handguns; and a few require a license to carry guns openly.

In San Francisco, San Jose and Cupertino, California unconcealed guns are allowed, but the battle is now over extending the right into Starbucks in the Bay area. Starbucks is taking the position that the issue must go through the courts and not in their stores.

How comfortable would you be sitting next to an openly-armed man? Are your rights to feeling safe and non-threatened equal to the gun toters?

It isn't enough to be able to carry guns around for personal protection, out of sight. Gun rights' advocates are taking the issue one-step further.

The Brady Campaign is fighting back to keep guns out of the workplace, schools and campuses, and other places of business.

I have run into two situations with guns that were definitely unpleasant and memorable. One was on the Kent State campus at the time of the student shootings in 1970. I was suffering a miscarriage and was trying to get into a doctor's office while a National Guardsman pointed a rifle at me and told me to clear the street.

Another incident was, as a mother of two, with a baby in a stroller, when I was in a parking lot at a nearby shopping outlet. Police had drawn guns and surrounded an area in which I was parked. I couldn't see the person they were chasing, but I got my kids into the car and got out of the area without shots being fired while I was there.

Let me say, having a loaded gun aimed at you is an unforgettable experience. At one time, I was a licensed gun holder and had practiced training to shoot for self-protection. I also took courses in karate since I took night classes at a local college.

Could I have "protected" myself with a gun? At Kent State, against armed Guardsmen, no. At the time of being in a parking lot with children, no. On campus at night, being alone, walking to my car after class, being alert, aware and ready, perhaps. But that was many years ago. Let me suggest that the average person, not on the alert, caught off-guard and unaware, would not be able to respond appropriately with a gun.

Few of us in emotionally-heated town hall meetings, political meetings, malls, grocery stores, or churches would want a lone, well-intentioned, mentally stable gun owner firing at another gunman across the room in a shootout around innocent, defenseless people.

According to the Brady Campaign site at http://www.bradycampaign.org, "the U.S. has an estimated 283 million guns in civilian hands or approximately 97 guns for every 100 people...."

Does that make me feel safer? No.

Many people buy guns for self-defense and practice using them. If caught by surprise, could they shoot a moving target? After a couple drinks? After arguing with someone? After experiencing road rage?

The gunman might feel "safer," but everyone else would probably feel nervous, uncomfortable, and frightened.

Should California allow people to walk into coffee shops with unconcealed weapons? How many other patrons are going to sit down and feel comfortable? Would the gun toters end up having more rights than the rest of the crowd?

California should say, "No." The rest of us really need to rethink how far we want to go with individual rights. Some "gun rights" people are carrying their "Second Amendment rights" much further than they were ever intended, over the safety and rights of others.

Sources:

"Spotlight: Unconcealed-Handgun Laws," Alison Stateman. Time magazine. March 22, 2010.

Http://www.bradycampaign.org. "Guns in America." www.bradycampaign.org/facts/gunviolence/gunsinamerica. Retrieved 3-22-10