There's no gun debate here

by Mouser The King Cat

The owner of an insurance agency in Georgia has required employees to pack a firearm on the job, paying for the concealed carry permit. The Associated Press picked up the story a few weeks ago and it gained attention. So the AP followed up with this breathless prose from Lisa Marie Pane:

The decision by the owner of a small insurance company to require his employees to carry firearms at the office has sparked a debate: Would having a gun on the job make you safer, or is it inviting violence into the workplace?

Finding few to support her premise, Ms. Pane dug up Charles Erlich, an attorney in California who was working at a firm in 1993 when a former client of the firm arrived and started shooting “with multiple weapons, killing eight people and injuring six before killing himself.”

Said Mr. Erlich, former president of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence:

“It’s not like it is on TV or at the movies where the good guy just shoots the bad guy. It’s very difficult to shoot a gun accurately, even when you’re not under pressure.”

The folks who work for Lance Toland’s insurance company, which specializes in insuring aircraft, eagerly shot down that premise. They strongly back the boss, who says he doesn’t have a social agenda, merely a safety agenda. Andrea Van Buren, who carries a Glock and practices at the range every week, says “gun ownership isn’t for everybody. If you’re carrying, you’ve got to be willing to use it.”

Mr. Toland: “When a perpetrator comes into the home or the office, they have started a fire. And this is a fire extinguisher.” Note to the AP: Go ahead and shame away; smart and reasonable people are standing their ground.