There are many places that you are not allowed to go when you are carrying a gun, called gun free zones. There has been a huge problem with these places being targeted by shooters and people just looking for unarmed and defenseless people to slaughter. People looking to commit violence on a mass scale will do whatever they can to hit a massive soft target in order to hit as many people as possible. You don’t really see them going to places where there is a high likelihood of resistance, such as an airport or a Federal building with armed security. So what can we do about these gun free zones as gun owners who carry? What are we supposed to do when we need to go somewhere that has been established as a gun free zone?
The number one recommendation that I have heard is to avoid these places outright. For people who have chosen to carry a gun everyday, this is not always an easy task, and can actually be completely impossible in some cases. Complete avoidance, in some cases, can actually interfere with your ability to carry on with normal activities such as going to movies or going to work. This is an easy thing to tell someone until you take into consideration that some of our brethren live in areas that are heavily against people being able to own guns in any capacity.
Okay, so you can’t avoid these places, so what can you do? Well, you can’t really do anything. See, the thing about this is that private businesses have the right to decide these types of rules for their place of business. Theaters, schools, and many big places of business have banned guns for decades. And just as a private business has the right to ban guns on their property, they also have the right to ban employees from having firearms on business property. It is very uncommon these days to find a place that will tolerate you having a firearm, in any capacity or condition, on business grounds for whatever the reason.
So the reality of the situation is that you can only do so much. If you so choose, you may be proactive in boycotting, or writing the owners of the business to make a personal appeal. Of course I would recommend not being rough and threatening if you so choose to take one of these courses of action. But beyond that, you can’t force people to be okay with you carrying. If you wanna quit your job and find a job where they are okay with you carrying, you are free to try that. The only thing I can recommend is that you avoid the places that you can, and be watchful and speedy when you can’t avoid them.
David served in the USMC for a few years. Deployed twice and got wounded. Retired and moved to Alaska. Has a passion for reviewing and testing guns and gear of all kinds. Enjoys working to dispel myths and show that you can train and practice in a realistic, safe, and practical way.
