Oh, the glorious decision by the Lee County Board of Commissioners, and the reasoning! Last week, they passed a measure 4-3 that lifted the ban on concealed carry inside public buildings. This does not include places such as schools, courthouses, law enforcement agencies or any building also housing state or federal offices.
The chairman, Charlie Parks, said that many reasons come into play as to the decision to change the way the county looks at citizens who carry concealed.
One reason is that the state of NC passed a law last year that now allows local governments to make such decisions for their specific areas. While this can make laws confusing and conflicting from county to county (and even town to town), it’s a step in the right direction.
Then, Parks gave another reason for the change. This is the one that has us saying, “YES! Why can’t everyone see this??”
Another reason for the ordinance, Parks said, is to “have another layer of security,” because people already bring concealed weapons into government buildings, despite signs on doors that prohibit them.
“We’ve already had reports of that – about people who don’t have permits and are actually illegal in what they’re doing,” Parks said. “What the signs do – they just tell the criminal that it’s a target-rich environment, where they have the ability to utilize their weapons if they want to.”
You hear that? Criminals didn’t obey the law in the first place! Say it ain’t so!
This change makes Lee County the fifth in the state to pass a similar ordinance. Other counties include Alamance, Cherokee, Henderson and Rowan.
Let’s hope that many more follow.
