Unbelievable and ridiculous; to me at least. Arizona law makers are working on a bill that would legalize concealed weapons in bars. Granted of course, there are going to be rules and restrictions, but get ready everyone for the return of the Wild West to Arizona. Pretty soon you’re gonna start hearing stories of bar fights where everyone but the bartender was wiped out. Of course the shooter got away on a really fast horse.
The bill does allow for bar owners to ban gun totin’ patrons. But there are a lot of really angry owners who believe that booze and ammo are a recipe for a serious disaster.
“This might be one of the stupidest things that I have heard of,” said Mike Nelson, who owns Pomeroy’s bar in Phoenix and plans to post a sign on his front door outlawing guns in his bar as soon as possible. “Can you think of a single reason guns and alcohol should be intertwined?”
And guess who’s behind this push for the Wild West. None other than the National Rifle Association.
Now for the big news. There are already 40 states where this is allowed. Georgia was #40 when it passed a similar bill in 2008.
“These laws are common sense,” said NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons. “Restaurants are not immune to criminal activity. Law-abiding people — regardless of whether they’re in restaurants, cars or homes — they should be able to protect themselves against criminal attack.” Common sense if your the NRA spokesperson.
Below is some really great logic from one of the bill’s sponsors.
Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, said it’s about time Arizona passes such a law, and that the most important thing is that people carrying guns into bars aren’t allowed to drink. “You don’t want intoxicated people with weapons, and this bill continues the prohibition against drinking and carrying,” said Kavanagh, a retired police officer in New York and New Jersey. “What is the problem with having a gun in a delicatessen where someone is having a beer with their pastrami two tables away?”
Hell, that was really funny. I’m going to enter a bar and not drink. That sounds like someone denying the very nature of bars.
Now, the bill would of course only apply to the 127,000 Arizonans who have passed a criminal background check, and taken the required eight-hour training course. Even so, alcohol has been known to do some funny stuff to people, and that means there are 127,000 chances that something could happen.
Frank Murray, owner of Seamus McCaffrey’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Phoenix, said he opposes the law and will prohibit his customers from coming in armed.”It’s kind of like the Wild West days,” he said. “We’ve got enough nuts out on the street walking around with guns. We don’t need them in places with alcohol and families.”
To me that is the kind of logic the Arizona legislation needs to be applying. Heck, I’m also going to start packing if everyone else does.
Let me know what you think about this issue. I THINK IT SUCKS!
