Friday, December 07, 2007

Gun Free Zones add 8 more to the death toll

The shooting at Westroads Mall in Omaha Nebraska did not have to happen. Nebraska has had a Concealed Carry law on the books since January 2007. But part of the law says that property owners can post signs prohibiting the carrying of a CCW on the premises. Employers may also prevent employees from carrying without requiring customers from doing so. But of course, that just means that the law abiding gun owner is prevented from carrying, it does not prevent those who have no desire to follow the law from doing so. Such was the case in Westroads Mall. The shooting took 30 minutes to transpire. In that time, nobody was able to stop the killing because nobody had the means thanks to short-sighted thinking by the property owner/manager. I sincerely hope that the families of all 13 victims sues the mall out of business for their blatant disregard for the protection of human life.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I live near a mall/Walmart location, and avoid driving in that area because the sooner it gets to Christmas, the more road rage/impatience happens on the roads around the mall/Walmart intersections

And obviously it doesn't stop on the roads. Now days, depressed/angry people want to include others in their suicides.

Although it would be inconvenient to make less mall entries, and put metal detectors in the few allowed exits, I would still feel more secure shopping at those kinds of malls, because I don't see too many malls encouraging legal gun owners to pack while shopping.

S

December 07, 2007 12:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't know that the mall owners are or should be held responsible for one person's insanity. I seldom if ever shop in a mall environment, unless it's the only option available to me, and I never frequent them around holiday season. But then.....I quit doing the X-mas stuff years ago, so I'm probably an abberation.

December 09, 2007 12:47 PM  
Blogger Rorschach said...

Ride, normally I'd agree with you for the simple reason that you have a responsibility to take care of your self. But when a property owner decides that it is their right to disarm you, then the property owner must accept the responsibility themselves. They cannot disarm you without accepting the responsibility to protect you.

December 09, 2007 4:45 PM  
Blogger The Dude said...

From a CHL holder's point of view, the place that I would most like to carry is a place where I can't due to restrictions by my employer. I'm talking about in my vehicle to and from work. That's the place where it would make the most sense for me to have a gun, because it's where I spend the most time in a vehicle.

Clearly, my employer has the legal right to limit what is in the vehicles that are parked on their property. OTOH, the intent of The Castle Doctrine is to allow people to protect themselves in three places:

1. Home
2. Vehicle
3. Place of business

So two out of the three places are (defacto) removed from me due to employer restrictions. Yeah, I know it's legal, but it just doesn't seem right. I suppose I could just ignore my employer's rules, but I've become sort of addicted to the paycheck. Somehow it just seems like a more ethical way to live than accepting gubmint money for sitting home on my arse.

So the same thing that limits CHL holders in Nebraska limits us here in Texas too. Sad that it takes tragic incidents like mall shootings for anyone to pay the slightest bit of attention to logical discrepancies in gun laws. I thank you for being one who has never been shy about pointing out those discrepancies, Ror.

- Dude

December 09, 2007 9:29 PM  
Blogger Rorschach said...

Dude, I'm in the same boat. What's worse is that next toor to my employer is a "low income apartment complex". We've had problems with the residents before. Everything from drug deals and prostitution to breaking into vehicles. I am often one of the last people in the building and one of the first ones there. As such, I would really like to be able to protect myself but my employer won't even allow me to carry in my personal vehicle. I have a side job that takes me to Gunspoint mall, and since I usually go straight there after work, I am prevented from carrying there too.

December 10, 2007 6:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Damn! Two jobs??? I wish we could mobilize people to boycott establishments (including employers) who can side-step laws for citizens to protect themselves. I worked with a lady who carried a gun in her purse (and to my knowledge outside of myself no one was aware of it). I bet she didn't have a CHL either, but I couldn't swear to it.

I don't own a gun, but more and more every day I'm thinking about taking a class to learn about handling a gun and then purchasing one.

December 10, 2007 8:03 AM  
Blogger Rorschach said...

Eh, it's not quite a job, but not quite a hobby either. I have a gentleman's agreement with my dentist. I keep her computers up and running, and she keeps my teeth in my head. Kinda of a part time tech support gig, but without the paycheck. She's a real good friend of mine. We've known each other for years.

It's kinda hard to boycott an employer, like The Dude said, we kinda get addicted to the paycheck. What's funny is that the company routinely takes clients on dove and deer hunts in South Texas and has a Sporting Clays tournament for clients too. And of course, on those days the parking lot is full of vehicles with long guns in them. The policy is "elastic" for the proper people....

December 10, 2007 8:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Got it! :-) Bully for you, Rorsc!

December 10, 2007 6:32 PM  

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