Shirt and Shoes Required, But Leave the Gun in the Car
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
Surprise #1: As I came back from lunch today I was faced with this sign posted on the glass next to the garage entrance to our office building.
My first thought was that something terrible must have happened in the building (or nearby) recently to predicate posting this strange sign. There’s just an ad agency and real estate company in the building, so the building is not a likely target of would-be robbers.
Surprise #2: As I showed the picture I had taken on my phone to our receptionist and ask if she knew what had happened, I find out that signs like this are being posted all over the city. At restaurants, businesses and more. Apparently the City Council passed an ordinance that allows people to legally carry concealed guns as a result of a new state law. Our mayor tried to veto it, but there were enough votes to override his veto. There are exceptions, including places where the business owner or the person in charge of the property decides to ban weapons. So hence the signs going up on front doors.
While I am usually up to speed on happenings, I knew nothing about this ordinance (because I would have been vocally against it). I must have been out of town or somehow completely missed any news coverage on this.
Frankly, I hate guns. And now I can’t get the visions out of my head of a bunch of crazy urban/suburbanites packing heat all around me.
And I’ll bet that car break-ins outside of businesses who have decided to ban guns will now spike.