We had the same issue and debate with the ruckus over smoking that we’re having now with guns. It was said smokers had the “right” to smoke anywhere. After all, it is a free country.
However, over time, it was finally recognized that nonsmokers had rights, too. As hard as it may have been for smokers to understand, it was found that nonsmokers, too, had the right to not be subjected to the risk of by-products (secondhand smoke) from the smokers. So, amazingly, your rights end where mine begin …
Well, it’s really the same with carry and concealed carry. Those who carry say it’s their right to carry anywhere (mostly). It’s the law.
However, concealed carry? Well, not so fast. Wearing a jacket or coat (which does conceal) is not a right granted in the Constitution.
And, lest we forget, just as with nonsmokers, noncarriers have rights, too.
We don’t yet have separate sections in planes, restaurants and other buildings so as to know and distinguish who does or does not carry so we can choose health (or life). But just the same, I still retain the very same right to not be subjected to the risk of by-products (injury or death) from those who choose to carry. And if I can see your weapon, I remain “free to choose” to be elsewhere – free to choose life – and not subject myself to the risk of being anywhere within the range of your pistol.
The Second Amendment may allow the right to defend oneself. But, as hard as it might be for those who carry to understand, the Declaration of Independence (as well as the Ninth Amendment?) also allows my – perhaps even greater – “inherent and inalienable” rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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