It’s not a carnival game, it’s a real gun
The Appalachian Online
October 8, 2014
The family-friendly, inviting and exciting atmosphere of the fair is no place for concealed weapons.
Last year, N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law House Bill 937, a comprehensive legislative action that blew the doors off of gun restrictions. Concealed weapons were made legal in establishments that sold alcohol, consisted of large public gatherings and even on school property.
However, McCrory’s own gun legislation record was challenged last week by Grass Roots NC, a gun rights advocacy group. The organization is citing the 2013 law in their argument for allowing concealed weapons at this year’s state fair.
Grass Roots NC is arguing the wording of the law removes concealed weapon restrictions that have been in place at the state fair for years.
The new regulations – or lack thereof – came about while gun control was a hot topic around the nation. While the purpose of increasing accessibility is the idea that self-protection may decrease or deter crime, some theorists and researchers believe it is the incredible accessibility of firearms in the U.S. that inflates gun crimes. There are numbers to support both causes.
Still, something about the possibility of guns being all around us without even knowing it is unsettling. To be in what is supposed to be a family-friendly environment and not be able to see the guns you know are allowed, well, that is a different ballgame.
Rarely, if ever, does McCrory get kudos on this page. But in response to Grass Roots NC’s petitioning, the governor refused to allow concealed weapons at the state fair. That is a response that brings along a breath of fresh air.
The governor joined prominent Republican Steve Troxler, the state’s agriculture commissioner and head of the fair activities, in supporting the ban.
For once, elected officials made the right call.
What does it say about a community when we see or know people who can’t leave their guns in the car for a few hours? It’s not a dog. You can leave a gun and it will take care of itself.
Where do our priorities lie when we are talking about bringing guns around hundreds of other families or thousands of children?
The only guns that should be allowed at the state fair are the ones that shoot sharp jets of water on a target.
Everyone was fine before handguns had the possibility of being allowed at the state fair. My guess is we will continue to be just fine without them.
Mullis, a senior criminal justice major from Wallburg, is an opinion writer.
Ken Soderstrom • Oct 10, 2014 at 10:46 am
“The family-friendly, inviting and exciting atmosphere of the fair is no place for concealed weapons.”
Oh, premise? Where are you?
Has the author considered the fact that 400K North Carolinians carry everywhere else in our inviting, exciting and family-friendly state? They have been for almost 20 years now – uneventfully save for a 50% reduction in violent crime.
Those opposed to the constitutionally-protected right to bear arms have been crying “Wolf!” for a generation.
Pardon reasonable people for ignoring you now.
MrApple • Oct 10, 2014 at 8:35 am
It is so sad that the people of this state seem OK with the fact that an elected official is picking and choosing the laws that he feels like obeying. How would that work out for the average citizen if they tried that, I wonder?
Aj Weaver • Oct 10, 2014 at 7:31 am
“Still, something about the possibility of guns being all around us without even knowing it is unsettling.” This happens to you everyday at Wal-Mart & Target. Are you unsettled when you go to the grocery store?
William Campbell • Oct 10, 2014 at 2:32 am
The State fairground is NOT Troxler’s private property to post off-limits to concealed handguns; it is State property. Troxler is a State EMPLOYEE. Liberalism is truly a mental disorder. Being a Republicrat provides no immunity from liberalism. Troxler’s paranoid concerns about “accidental discharge” are terribly misplaced and illogical. There is a much greater incidence of on-duty law enforcement officers shooting innocent bystanders than there is of concealed handgun permit holders making such errors. If Troxler is sincerely concerned about “accidental discharge” among “the mix of kids, guns, rides and large crowds” he should ban law enforcement officers from having handguns at the fair. Let’s keep it real with facts, logic, and data–not gut “feelings” and liberal paranoia.
Joe DeStefano • Oct 10, 2014 at 2:15 am
Mr. Mullis: You, like many people in this debate including the republican politicians, are exhibiting a limited understanding of our criminal justice system and what it means to be a nation of laws. Clearly, the law is on the side of GRNC and not on the side of those who want to ignore it because they don’t want guns at a public venue where they were never allowed in the past. Even the governor is wrong in this case. He cannot ban guns simply because he wants to. In our nation, that which is not prohibited, is permitted and under current law, I have to say the state will lose this one in court because nothing in the law prohibits the carrying of concealed firearms by individuals at the fair.
Additionally, the opposition to allowing concealed firearms is pulling out the “gunfights and blood on the fairway” card and as history always proves in these debates, the fear is simply unfounded. If weapons are allowed on the fair grounds, nothing will happen. Fair goers will have a great time and permit holders will not be subject to the whims of politicians when the law is on their side.
D.Bagwell • Oct 10, 2014 at 1:48 am
This article proceeds for a very basic misconseption… That anyone with a gun is a lunatic. The fact is that in the year since the latest relaxation of conceled carry laws there has not been ONE SINGLE case of a licenced concealed carry holder commiting any sort of gun crime, and thewre have been a grand total of 0 incidents so the entire argument is based on nothing but dogmatic bigotry against people who value the constitution. Why don’t you progressives join the real world where the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun…