Free Republic

North Carolina restaurant The Pit was robbed at gunpoint on Sunday. Normally, local crime stories like this wouldn't merit a Townhall post, but this one is different: The Pit has a "no weapons" sign displayed prominently on its door declaring the restaurant a gun-free zone, and bans patrons from carrying concealed weapons. Authorities said just before 9 p.m. Sunday, three men wearing hoodies entered the restaurant through the back doors with pistols, and forced several staff members to lie on the floor. The bandits assaulted two employees during the crime, but they were not seriously injured. What groups like Everytown...

Separated by several states and an obvious cultural gap, two recent stories about crime - one from Ohio and the other from Oregon - perhaps best illustrate why a growing number of American citizens have concluded that the police can't protect us, and neither can gun control laws or anti-gun corporate policies. Police were quick to apprehend a suspect in the May 4 armed robbery of a Dairy Mart convenience store in Akron; perhaps much quicker than many Ohioans were able to grasp why so many of their neighbors are arming themselves, getting licenses to carry concealed handguns, and choosing...