Wild Wild West

When the new law on gun control was passed last week making the Florida the fourth state to allow guns at the workplace, I had mixed feelings about the new legislation. According to the new law, if my employer is not a hospital, prison, power plant or school, I can take my handgun to work as long as I have a concealed weapons permit and the gun is locked inside my vehicle. Is this good or bad news?

In the gun control article, " Showdown," it states that Florida has more concealed weapons permits than any state in the nation. The article also indicates the new law is good news for some Floridians and the bad news for others.

What is the point in bringing a gun to work? Think about it, how often are people robbed or shot at during work hours? Speaking from the point of a person who works a normal forty-hour work week and considers himself to be a law-abiding citizen, I have never found myself in a threatening work situation where I felt the need to physically defend myself, let alone pull out a gun.

The people I work with who have dishonorable intentions or criminal minds probably already bring their guns to work, and up until now, I have never felt intimidated by them. I feel intimidated because I do not know who they are, but now that this law has been passed that legally allows guns to be brought to work, it makes me feel that I may be at a disadvantage.

I could be the only one at work unarmed which, in turn, make me suspicious and fearful of everyone. I think that this new legislation would only put everyone on edge and create a more hostile work environment.

Everyone is already aware of the reputation of the United States Postal Service with regards to workplace violence. As a postal employee, now I know that everyone can legally bring their guns to work. This does not make me feel like I am working in a safer work environment.

In fact, taking into consideration some of the strange characters that I work with, it makes me feel just the opposite. I am sure that the law makers that passed this law had good intentions, but I feel that they failed to make it clear to the public how this law is to be interpreted.

Saying that it is now legal to bring a gun to work is too broad of a statement. Where do you draw the line with the interpretation of the law? What are the limitations?

When I go to a place such as Disney World, am I to assume that it is a strong possibility that Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck could have access to a weapon? When I take my six-year old son to school, or my two-year old daughter to daycare, it doesn't give me an added sense of assurance for their safety knowing that it is a possibility that their teachers may have a gun at work.

When I go to church, knowing that it is a possibility that the pastor, the deacons, ushers or even the secretary may have access to a gun does not make me feel safer either.

Everything has its place and unless you work at a job where you are required to carry a weapon, the work place is certainly no place for a gun. The gun laws are too lax and need to be stricter.

I do not think we as citizens will ever know the true intent of the United States Constitution with regards to who should bear arms.