One of our local TV stations posted a link on Facebook to its report on the decision by Midland Park Mall to prohibit the carrying of concealed handguns on its property. It’s unclear whether these are new signs, but the mall’s policy and the station’s spotlight on the signs are drawing the reactions you’d expect from a conservative West Texas community like ours.
Against my better judgment, I skimmed through the comments left on Facebook, and amid the usual misconceptions (“that’s the mall’s rule and you can’t be charged with anything but trespassing if you violate it”) and overreactions (“I thought this was America”) – and despite the almost unanimous condemnation of the mall’s stance, there was one subtle-but-common thread: nobody suggested ignoring it.
I realize it’s risky, if not downright stupid, to draw any sociological conclusions from a Facebook comment thread, but that observation obliquely affirms one of the basic arguments in favor of granting the right to bear concealed weapons – or, perhaps more to the point, against the idea that prohibiting concealed carry makes things safer. It’s a trite saying that when firearms are banned, only criminals will have them, but the Facebook conversation seems to confirm that those who support concealed carry are also generally a law-abiding group, and are apparently not willing to break the law even if they deem it to be unfair or illogical.
And in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I think I can safely assume that this same philosophy is not held by the criminal element in our society. Otherwise, they would not be, you know, criminals.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have a concealed handgun permit. And while I fully comply with lawful prohibitions posted by businesses – and would never boycott a business simply for implementing that prohibition – I absolutely don’t buy into the argument that they’re making things any safer. Midland Park Mall may or may not lose any business over their stance on this issue, but its management has lost credibility with a chunk of its customer base.