Our View

Our View

Should county employees be allowed to carry on the job?

Kudos to Garland County Quorum Court members on the Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee for their support of an ordinance that would allow county employees with concealed-carry permits to take firearms to work.

They say, and we concur, this ordinance is a proactive step in subduing a potential shooter on county property. Oh sure, there are those skeptics out there who are probably freaking out over the fact there will be a handful of trigger happy county employees walking around with a concealed firearms waiting for the opportunity for a gun wielding lunatic to bust through the doors.

Contrary to this type of distorted thinking that these people are nothing but a bunch of gunslingers, the fact of the matter is that those employees who choose to carry must not only posses a concealed carry permit they must also complete a Garland County Sheriff’s Office Civilian Response to an Active Shooter class.

Sheriff Mike McCormick said he wants to make absolutely sure those employees who do decide to participate clearly understand they aren’t expected to go down the hallway stalking the active shooter.

Basically, the sheriff said, these gun toting civil servants need to know the purpose of the being armed is for self protection and, in fact, during the required 90minute course they will be told not to engage a shooter unless their lives are in jeopardy.

While the ordinance deals primarily with employees in their principal place of work it does not pertain to county employees, for instance, who work in the road department or the county landfill who spend most of their time on the road in county-owned vehicles.

The lone dissenter on the committee, Justice Denise Marion wanted to know the logic in giving these county employees permission to walk around with concealed firearms. She said there is a big difference in a trained law enforcement officer who knows how to respond and “people drawing out their gun and shooting.”

This type of response from individuals who refuse to face reality should know from previous mass shootings that they always occur in places where firearms are prohibited and the victims are left helpless with no way to defend themselves.

As a matter of fact, since our logic-minded legislature, at least the majority of them, have endorsed carry conceal on public property with the exception of courthouses and law enforcement agencies, we encourage public school officials to embrace teachers being able to conceal carry.

These gutless and spineless perpetrators bend on preying upon helpless and innocent people are very much unlikely to carry out their devious and dastardly deeds if they know those they are victimizing are armed to defend themselves.

We certainly understand that not everyone is comfortable with carrying a gun for self protection they should not oppose other law-abiding citizens from doing so.

Sadly, facts will bear out that when a major mass shooting occurs response time for law enforcement gives the shooter plenty of time to carry out their deadly attack.

While this trend to allow public employees to carry conceal in the workplace is occurring in a few counties there is a growing interest. In fact, we’re told that the Baxter County Quorum Court is now considering a similar ordinance and is actually worth Crittenden County justices to consider also. We would think that our very own Sheriff Mike Allen and county Judge Woody Wheeless would support such an ordinance.

BIBLE VERSE

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

John 4:7-13

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