Posted on 11/01/2011 5:07:03 AM PDT by marktwain
Well, the day is finally here: Concealed carry is officially the law of the land in Wisconsin.
Before today, I never had to worry about encountering covertly armed strangers during my daily routine.
(Not outside of being a victim of crime, I mean. Which, I guess, for some people is the entire point.)
With concealed carry laws in effect, I can't be too lax about casual encounters anymore. I have to remind myself to be aware of any sudden movements or suspicious behavior by individuals while in public space.
Even driving back and forth from home to work takes on a new relevance. I have to make it a point to be more courteous to fellow motorists and exhibit extreme road courtesy in all situations.
You can't be flipping anybody off in the age of concealed carry, that's for sure.
In regards to pedestrian traffic, I'm going to have to start watching for the hunched-over posture that could signal a concealed gun carrier.
Maybe a telltale bump or protrusion under their clothing. Of course, as it gets colder, that's going to be a lot more difficult to decipher.
Who knows who's packing heat under those puffy down jackets in the middle of January?
Thankfully, the "No Weapons Allowed in the Building" sign has been posted at my job, which was a great relief for some of us who write the kind of stories that occasionally get the public agitated.
(Thanks, boss!)
But the job requires getting out and mingling with the public in all those areas that are suddenly fair game for concealed gun carriers.
You know, like the supermarket. The shopping mall. Even the local tavern.
Yes, the tavern; the law says you can carry a concealed weapon in a bar as long as you're not drinking.
I suspect some folks will obey that law about as well they do drunken-driving statutes.
As you can see, it's easy to get overly paranoid about this new law. Wisconsin becoming the 49th state to allow concealed carry suggests it doesn't mean we're headed toward becoming the new wild, wild Midwest.
Frankly, it's more about perception than anything else.
I've traveled to many of the states that allow concealed carry - you probably have, too - and can attest to the fact the law doesn't contribute to any greater or lesser sense of public safety.
Most times, you don't even think about it.
Pro-gun advocates insist concealed carry laws lead to a decrease in crime, but statistics don't bear that out in any discernible way. Apparently, there aren't a lot of stories about concealed carry "heroes" rising up to stop crime.
The GOP got what it wanted to appease the NRA and other gun lobbyists, so now the relatively few state residents who actually want to wear a holster and gun under a jacket every day, but never use it, can follow their frontier spirit.
I've heard all the arguments, but I'm still not sure why any ordinary citizen would feel the need to carry a gun in public for self-defense. What also doesn't make sense to me is the idea that having more guns will make us safer instead of the other way around.
I doubt if this notable day in Wisconsin history will do anything to change that.
Contact Eugene Kane at (414) 223-5521 or ekane@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @eugene_kane
Exactly correct.
And exactly as it should be!
Eugene, you ignorant waste of oxygen, the people you should be concerned about in your daily encounters have been armed all along. The kind of people who would shoot you because you flip them off, or who become unhinged about something you wrote, or who would bring a gun into your workplace and start shooting people do not pay attention to silly "no weapons allowed in this workplace" signs nor to prohibitions on concealed carry. The people who are now carrying but who previously complied with laws prohibiting concealed carry are law-abiding citizens who are simply concerned about being able to protect themselves (and even you for some reason). Take comfort in your employer's insistance on declaring your workplace to be an unarmed victim zone; if the time comes hide behind the sign -- maybe the homicidal shooter won't notice you while he's ignoring the sign.
Just another way for the Left to dehumanize and demonize the Right. The image of a Cro-Magnon or Neanderthal, hunched over in its primitive form, clearly not "modernized and enlightened".
Relax Eugene. No need to spoil your lace unmentionables. Keep listening to your Justin Bieber records, all will be well.
I call this kind of writing “fantasy bubble” talk.
The writer lives in a bubble of fantasy created by his liberal background, education, and employment. As a liberal writer, he feels all problems can be solved by improved communication. What he fails to understand is that the people CCW carriers are defending against are not his fellow Starbucks and tofu ice cream aficinados. They are persons who can barely read and write and who have chosen to use violence as their primary means of communicating to the world what they want.
I’d say that if Eugene talks to/treats strangers he meets outside his liberal fantasy zone with in the same flip sacasm in which he writes, he has a great deal to fear.
No, a CCW permit holder won’t shoot him; but he might lose more than a few teeth from his smart mouth being punched in.
As for the thugs; well, if he survives the encounter, he might decide to be better prepared. Then he will be glad that Wisconsin is the 49th state to authorize CCW for qualified citizens.
This eugene fellow is the kind of loser with whom I don’t care to interact. What a complete whining putz.
What a frigging libtard idjit.
"And having to stop at the store every day to buy more adult diapers."
Yo, Eugene, it looks like Illinois is the only state left where you will "feel" safe. Chicago in particular. Oh, and stay away from those states where even permits are not required. Those states probably don't have enough diapers for you.
Hey Eugene ya sissy, maybe you didn't notice, but that lady was really good looking!
Wait, you were talking about a concealed handgun?. Never mind. LOL.
Flash mobs, carjackings, people beating up other people just for the heck of it, rape, muggings.....shall I continue? Add to that the fact that police are little more than paperwork processors AFTER the crime is committed nowadays, the fact that in places like DC, laws have been passed relieving the police from the responsibility of protecting you.....shall I continue?
As a I read this I thought “This is a chick talking”. I got tothe end and the name Eugene pops up as the byline.
I grew up in Wisconsin too and Eugene, you are a pansy.
Eugene = Victim
His “pucker” factor is so high...his nose has collapsed.
Eugene = Human Shield
Eugene = Low-hanging Fruit
‘Before today, I never had to worry about encountering covertly armed strangers during my daily routine.’
LOL, what a remarkably stupid stmt!!!!
Eugene = Someone protected by weapons carried by others
Even little dweebs like Eugene benefit from concealed carry. Unless he wears a sign around his neck announcing that he's unarmed, criminals have no way of knowing that he's easy pickings and not something dangerous. Thus the guns carried by others create a sense of uncertainty among the criminal class that protects the unarmed, whiny dweeb as well as those who are willing to take responsibility for their own safety.
Poor Eugene; protected by those he hates.
“Pro-gun advocates insist concealed carry laws lead to a decrease in crime, but statistics don’t bear that out in any discernible way.”
What a liar. Liberals always lie.
Yeah, so in other words, Eugene can’t be the typical liberal jerk that he used to be to his fellow citizens. Sometimes progress comes from unexpected directions...
When they banned knives with blades over 2.5" where I work, I commented that, while it may have been a feel-good measure, that it was stupid.
When questioned on it, I mentioned that I could spout off ten things that were perfectly okay to have on my desk, that could also be used as weapons.
Laptop, cords (even a corded mouse), picture frames (glass, sharp metal), pencils, pens, keyboard, stapler, ceramic mug, three-ring binders (ever pinch that little fleshy part between your thumb and forefinger in those damned things?), thumb tacks, plasticware (not much for defense, but can easily wound), even the metal wire holding my spiral-bound notebooks together. I even mentioned the fruit in the fridge, but apparently most of my workmates are ignorant of the dangers of a banana, or worse, loganberries (it's no fun working with the Monty Python deprived).
All are weapons, they just aren't scary-looking.
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