When the shooting happened at a Virginia Beach municipal building, it was just another mass shooting in a gun-free zone. When we later learned that a worker had considered taking a gun that day, and didn't because of the rules in place. She, unfortunately, was killed.
However, in Oklahoma, a new bill is heading to the governor that would prevent that from happening there.
In fact, it protects workers in municipal buildings throughout the state.
House Bill 1095, also known as the “Municipal Carry Act,” would allow municipalities to pass ordinances authorizing concealed carry of handguns in offices or buildings owned by the city. It would not allow guns in courtrooms, jails and detention facilities.
The legislation passed the Senate with a 39-8 vote, with all opposition coming from Democrats.
Senate Democrats expressed concerns that the bill could extend concealed carry rights to individuals without sufficient training.
“House Bill 1095 moves us in the wrong direction,” said Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City. “This bill opens the door to more firearms in courthouses, government buildings, zoos and parks where children learn and play. It extends the right to concealed carry for individuals who are not law enforcement officers.”
The state already has a measure that does this for county employees. This just extends the rights to city employees as well.
As for Hicks and her claims, that's absolute BS.
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Anti-gun Democrats always try to make it out like there's some massive training deficiency that isn't being addressed with any law that expands gun rights for anyone, but the truth of the matter is that there's just not any evidence of that being an issue.
Law-abiding gun owners simply aren't the problem, especially while carrying concealed. There's no reason to believe they'll suddenly become one just because they're on the job while carrying a firearm.
But we do know that armed citizens make everyone safer from things like mass murders. Having an armed individual at the scene drastically reduces the number of casualties that take place. While many mass killings are meticulously planned, the would-be killers are usually not meticulously trained. Anything that goes contrary to their plan upsets everything. Often, they either surrender or take their own life when they meet armed resistance.
So, having guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens ends the threat much sooner.
Plus, frankly, I don't see anything in the Second Amendment requiring training as decided upon by anti-gun Democrats anyway.
But someone like Hicks can't just retreat behind "guns are icky" as she'd probably like to. This is Oklahoma, after all, and even in Oklahoma City, they like the Second Amendment. That argument won't fly with anyone.
So, she has to pretend that people who carry guns, including government employees, are unhinged lunatics just looking for an excuse to start shooting people, particularly in parks and zoos.
It's ridiculous, but it's also par for the course with these people. They see you as dangerous, even if you're working for the city and have been a model employee for decades.
Luckily, for people like Hicks, it's a lost cause. The bill passed, it'll probably get signed, and it's a done deal.
And what will happen next?
Most likely, nothing, just like what happened after all the other things Democrats said would result in blood in the streets.
