During RF’s recent Caribbean cruise, he raised the inflammatory question of whether or not there should be gun-free zones. To quote The Pirates of the Caribbean, do you believe in gun-free zones Miss Turner? Well I’m in one . . .
As a Canadian, I am prohibited from owning (never mind carrying) a handgun.Up here in the frozen north, citizens can’t own a gun “with a barrel length inferior to 105 millimetres (4.1 inches)” unless it’s for “International Sporting Competition.”
I do not own a handgun legal or otherwise. But I have strong opinions about gun-free zones. I’m in favor.
Courthouses are definitely an “ are you kidding me” moment. There should be no weapons in a courtroom because justice could get served at the end of a bullet in a nasty criminal or divorce case. Feelings run high and the bullets might fly.
Churches, temples and any other place of worship should also be a no-fly zone for bullets. The exception to this rule might be a religious service in a hot war zone, but one might want to pack heat for general survival reasons in wars. But mostly it just seems baffling to me when religion and guns mix in a “my- God- is- greater-than-your God” scenario. We may have lost the manual on the divine purpose of religions at the point where guns are in the building.
Guns on a plane are worse than snakes on a plane. Leave the flying to the pilots and the weapons to the air marshals on a plane-or maybe a well-armed co-pilot.
Hospitals should have well-armed security guards, but a visit to see Aunt Hazel in the nearly-dead ward does not seem like a gun-toting moment to me.
It is nice to see that most of you believe that prisoners should not have guns. I wondered whether the right to pack heat had any limitations in the US.
Robert was recently on a cruise ship, presumably in international waters with foreign ports of call. This is clearly a when-in-Rome moment where local rules apply, although some foreign ports like Mexico may be a place where personal firepower has a huge upside. Except for the possibility of arrest and Mexican jails.
Schools seemed to have replaced post offices as potential kill zones in your country. If I were a kid in school, I would have to think about that misfit in biology class as a possible teenaged Grim Reaper lethally frustrated by lack of success with the chicks.
When he finally blows a fuse, I would have to excuse any sharpshooter in the classroom that successfully returned fire on Mr.Lonely. But the general theory of why a kid should pack heat in school still evades me and I don’t think a chalkboard will help on this one. Adolescent hormones and firepower are not a good mix.
I definitely do not believe in guns and bars. The variable is booze and massive stupidity when drunk. I worked in bars for over 20 years here in Canada and I met hundreds of misfits/reasons why you should not bring a gun into a bar. The complete lack of sanity exhibited by otherwise normal people when they are drunk is the reason.
These are a few of my favorite things when it comes to gun-free zones. As to whether an entire nation should be a gun-free zone, I admit that this is a fantasy. Canada, like the UK, has no lack of illegal guns. But I believe there are places where all guns—legal and illegal—should be prohibited by law.