Posted on 10/31/2003 6:44:18 AM PST by jdege
Recently, Shorty's began frisking individuals and using metal detectors to ensure safety. Will this cause students to stop going out?
By Dan Sanders, Opinions Writer, The Keystone
This weekend, I discovered a new special at Shorty's. it's called the "Oh my god, I'm going to get shot!" And it's absolutely free.
On a routine, ordinary drinking binge this weekend, I stumbled on over to Shorty's. Upon entering the local hangout, I was asked for my ID, even though my hairline clearly broadcasts my legality.
Then, suddenly, another bouncer grabs me and frisks me with a metal detector. "Oh, no," I thought. "I hope I didn't bring my bomb." No, I don't own a bomb. How about my knives, guns or infamous Sword of Doom? No, no, no. Do I even want to drink there any longer? No, no, no.
Here's the problem. I'm all behind the idea of frisking everyone that walks through the door. The frightening thing isn't the precaution; it's the apparent need for that precaution. Does that mean that The Pub is now a runoff spot for Kutztown gun nuts?
It's terrifying to think this is a real problem. There are actually people out there who feel they should carry a gun to a place where they plan to drink alcohol in large quantities. I used to worry about getting clipped by drunk drivers on the weekends. Now, I have to worry about drinking and drive bys.
The craziest part is that if someone is stupid enough to take a gun to a bar, they should be allowed to ever carry a gun. There should be a rule where you can't have a gun and drink ever, ever again. If you want to kill stuff with a tiny cannon, you should have all of your faculties available to you at all times.
Besides, if you're so concerned about your health that you need to defend it with a gun, what the hell are you doing in a bar?
While there's no reason to carry a gun in the first place, there's even less of a reason to take one with you when you're drinking. There's no other purpose in carrying a gun to a bar than killing a stranger who stepped on your shoe, or caused you some other small inconvenience ("I SAID NO ICE!"). That is not a good reason. There are a hundred reasons not to carry a gun into a bar, most of which deal with the lack of logic behind it.
First of all, there isn't any game in a bar. You'll never be out drinking and decide to do some random hunting. At no point will there ever be a deer hitting on your girlfriend, or a bear menacing the dance floor.
Also, we don't need to defend anything. There are no evildoers to ward off, wrongs to right or justice to uphold. Nobody is tied to train tracks, and the owner of Shorty's isn't a laser-wielding evil scientist.
England isn't going to invade Kutztown and claim it for the Queen. Even if they were, the government has all the army it needs. America has never lost a war because were short one man, six bullets and 62 IQ points from central Pennsylvania.
I was talking to a friend of mine about this situation, and it turns out that one of our friends is looking to get his carrier's permit. This is the permit that allows one and all to walk around with a handgun for no good reason. His angle was protection. The fear angle. The what-if-I'm-attacked-by-strangers-for-my-Velcro-wallet-that-contains-more-business-cards-than-dollars-I-have-a-free-bagel-coupon-in-there angle.
Based on the logic of protecting yourself from the imaginary demons that are going to beat you up at the bar, maybe you shouldn't leave the house. You should just stay at home, wrapped in blankets, and take vitamins until you're 90 years old.
There's no need to be this afraid for your wellbeing. By the same logic, I should start wearing a cup to the bar. I've never caught a swift one to the testicles at the bar before, but who knows what tomorrow holds. It could hold my testicles in my stomach. I'd better be safe and wear that cup, and a helmet, and I'd better start carrying that sword of Doom.
If there is no need for handguns in bars, why do all the off-duty cops carry them in there?
I was thinking he didn't have a problem finding another watering hole.
"Oh yea nobody is ever attacked at or near a bar..."
This asswipe should ask Hal9000 about not needing protection in a bar.
BTW, I carry whenever I go out, where ever that takes me, even if I'm going to imbibe. I've never shot anyone for any reason. Never even had to brandish it. But that doesn't mean that I will never need it.
No such restrictions here in PA unless the owner of the bar posts it as such. I have only seen one bar with a sign and his reasoning was "9/11". I didn't see the sign when I entered, but someone else told me about it. What was funny was that at least 10 people that I knew in there were carrying and one guy was carrying open.
Whew, so glad it was an uneventful evening!
It depends on the State. Some states have almost no restrictions and leave this at the discretion of the management. I used to live in one such state; you were allowed to bring firearms into any private establishment unless one was specifically notified to the contrary (i.e. via a prominent sign or the management telling you). In practice, few bars and such actually had such a sign posted. It was never a problem much that I could tell.
Source, please. I can find no such law in PA.
The first part of the statement is pure BS, although I generally agree with the second part.
In North Dakota, Concealed Weapon Permit holders are neither to carry in any establishment with an alcohol license nor in a place with a gaming license, unless they are an employee.
Carrying your weapon under the influence is a definite no-no.
Either infraction will cost you your license and may end up in criminal charges.
Only firearms (unloaded) offered as raffle prizes are allowed otherwise.
Friends don't let friends write drunk...
I have no problem with a policy that you either check your gun (and your car keys) or you get cut off while you're still sober.
I don't think that's what this author (if I may dignify the generator of this near-gibberish with that term) has in mind, however.
False. In Nevada, you can go into a bar with a gun and put down a couple beers. Legally. The BAC where it becomes a misdemeanor crime ("loaded while loaded") is higher than the BAC for drunk driving.
It would be more correct to say that it is a crime to carry guns in public after getting well-lubed. It is enforced as a secondary charge if you get tagged for some other "drinking in public" type crime.
It is legal in Nevada too.
For starters, the adrenalin rush is really going to wreak havoc with any buzz you were feeling. I don't know how that affects you, but everything starts moving in slow-motion for me. Crystal clear, but it is as if I am thinking in normal time. Sober, no problem, when I drank, I thought fast, but my body did not respond as quickly as when sober.
There are more contentious jerks around water holes, especially ones where people drink hard. The no firearms rule just takes things down a notch for the hardcore drunks. They can still beat each other up out back and suffer in the morning without the likelihood of collateral damage.
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