Concealed carry puts public at risk

Many people responded to my June 13 letter by saying that the choice to carry a gun in public (in those states where concealed carry is permitted) is a personal choice that is theirs to make and no one else's. The right to “bear arms” might reasonably be said to be a personal one when it concerns doing so on one's own land, home or place of business. Illinois law already recognizes that. But what these gun advocates simply do not understand is that when a loaded handgun is carried onto a public street or into a public park or establishment, it simply is no longer a private matter, but rather a very public one.

This is true no matter how confident one might be in his ability to handle the gun. Alcohol, uncontrolled rage or human error can quickly turn an otherwise responsible gun owner into a very real public threat. And that is everyone's business.

These gun rights groups seem to thrive on a sort of “cold war” mentality: “If he's going to have a gun, then I want one too.” Such attitudes are driven by an unhealthy and unjustified paranoia. To all concealed carry fans, I ask you: Have you ever needed to draw your gun, much less fire it, to protect yourself or another? Statistics show that you are more likely to hurt yourself or another with your precious handguns long before you'll ever, if at all, have to use it to defend yourself.

Let's not go back to the Wild West days by allowing concealed carry advocates to live out their cowboy fantasies on our public streets. No concealed carry in Illinois!

Mike Fanella

Arlington Heights