When Kansas Governor Brownback signed the Constitutional Carry bill on the second of April this year, disarmists predicted streets running red with blood. The law went into effect on July first. Two weeks later, a young man, Joey Tapley, carrying a pistol without a permit foiled a robbery attempt at an Academy sporting goods store. Many would say that robbing a gun shop is a really stupid idea, and it shows in this attempt. From wiby.com . . .
Tapley followed the three suspects described only as white males ages 16 or 17, after they stole several rifles and an undisclosed amount of cash. Once outside, Tapley pulled out his own weapon.
“I told him drop the gun man, mine is loaded , just drop the gun. We made eye contact for a second or two and he dropped two guns and ran,” said Tapley.
Tapley is clearly a member of gun culture 2.0, whose members are more concerned with crime fighting and protecting the Constitution than hunting and protecting livestock. Those activities have not gone away, but they were more prominent in gun culture 1.0. Joey has obviously followed the debate on constitutional carry. At 23, he’s politically informed:
Tapley who carries his gun without a concealed carry permit says his heroics wouldn’t have been possible without Governor Brownback’s approval of the law that took effect just under 2 weeks ago on July 1.
“Thats why Kansas made the law. So citizens can carry and protect themselves and others. I guess my instincts just took over,” said Tapley.
Kansas was the sixth state to join the constitutional carry club, along with Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Wyoming, and Vermont. Maine recently enacted Constitutional carry legislation too, but their law will not go into effect for 90 days. Three other states, Montana, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, passed constitutional carry laws by large margins, but the bills were vetoed by Democrat governors.
Gun Watch