While I’ve got guns on the brain (see last post), there’s one more law that I’d like the state to consider.

First, I’ve got to make a disclaimer.  I’m normally against using state power to curtail the rights of property owners.  I’ve got some serious reservations about this.  However, when personal safety is at stake, perhaps it is justified to do so.

Some companies post their parking lots as off-limits to firearms.  If the company is located in an area without any nearby public parking, this effectively disarms the employee on the way to and from their job.  I’d like to see this practice ended.  The idea that someone can be disarmed off of company property due to this kind of rule bothers me.  Truthfully, such rules don’t do much good, since someone who is determined to cause trouble will just ignore it (i.e. someone contemplating an office rampage probably won’t be worried about this rule).  Further, in that situation, an employee could potentially put an end to a rampage by retrieving his own gun from the parking lot (as happened in a college shooting incident not too long ago).

I’d heard that some state had done this recently, although I can’t remember which one right now.  I’m not advocating that states regulate what companies can do inside their buildings.  However, parking lots are generally more public (even if controlled access) and should perhaps be treated that way.

Hmm… it just occurred to me that this is similar to the argument used by the anti-smoking nazis to regulate smoking in bars and restaurants.  Perhaps this isn’t such a good idea after all, although I should note that once again I’m not for regulating what the company can do inside its buildings.  This one needs further thought.