Sure, let's let anyone who can pass the basic requirements carry a gun, without requiring them to take any firearms training at all to learn how to safely use a gun. What could possibly go wrong?
We've had open carry here in TX for several years - you can either conceal it or wear it on your hip if you want to, but there are some places where you cannot carry at all if the owner posts a sign prohibiting it. Let's be realistic - if you own a bar, would you really want your customers to be packing, knowing that some of them are going to become morte inebriated as the night goes on? Bar fights are bad; bar fights with guns are worse.
The police departments here absolutely HATE this law for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that there's no longer any safety training required at all. You can literally kill yourself or others if you don't know what you're doing with a loaded gun. As for leveling the playing field with the bad guys - that's just wishful thinking. Putting a gun in the hands of someone who maybe watched a TikTok video to learn how to use it isn't going to make anyone safer and is probably not going to end well. If you think otherwise, you're fooling yourself.
If someone wants to carry a gun, whether it's for protection or to compensate for certain personal inadequacies, I have no problem with it. I have never owned a gun and have no interest in owning a gun, but would not stand in the way of anyone else legally possessing a gun (within reason - I draw the line at AR-15 style rifles, which no one outside of the military or police has a legitimate use for). But, is it too much to ask that they be required to receive training on how to use it? Would you toss the keys for the family car to a 6-year old and tell him to go pick up some snacks at the corner store? That's basically what you're doing when you allow untrained individuals to carry a gun. |
