Time and time again, gun-free zones are proven to be ripe killing fields for anyone wishing to take advantage of them.
People continually think that if they put up a sign that says “No Guns,” or the universal symbol — a picture of a handgun with a circle around it and a slash through it — everybody inside and on the premises will be safe.
We do this at all our schools in Georgia and many places of employment as well, all the while giving a false sense of security to the parents of our children and employees who are forced to work inside them.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Recently, in Kennesaw, there was another workplace shooting in, you guessed it, a “pretend” gun-free zone — “pretend” because the employees paid to provide security were not equipped with the tools to do so when the need arose. However, the pictures on the news of the “Gun Free Zone” signs in front of the building looked nice.
If you saw any of those pictures, surely you noticed an abundance of law enforcement officers standing in front of the signs, armed and prepared to do their job. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, the act was over.
I believe this act would not have happened had security personnel been armed and prepared to actually provide security.
There are two reasons for this.
One, the person intent on committing this awful act would have thought twice before encountering a couple of armed individuals. I doubt he would have been up to the challenge of getting into the facility in the first place — and he would not have been able to commit his tragic deed. As it was, and still is today, he had no such challenge.
Two, had he decided to try to carry out his deed, there is a better-than-average chance he would have been shot at the security checkpoint. He wouldn’t have had the chance to shoot anyone.
Too often, our news media asks what went wrong and why a person would commit such a horrendous act. In doing so, the main impetus is always on the perpetrator and his state of mind. Weeks are spent trying to determine what went wrong in his life.
Perhaps it is time to look at how the victims could have actually been protected.
The way to end shootings in pretend gun-free zones, is to do away with pretend gun-free zones altogether. Either equip security personnel with the tools they need to actually provide security, or allow those inside to carry and provide their own security.
Jerry Henry is executive director of GeorgiaCarry.org, a nonprofit advocacy group.
