Hey, why not make everyone carry a gun?

Yes, concealed carry probably has some deterrent value. Since no one of any gathering knows who is packing heat, maybe some of the bad guys will have second thoughts about challenging another person. But make no mistake — even then, anytime a bad guy does threaten you he makes sure he already has the drop on you, and unless you now want to gamble on some unwinnable odds you’d better let your gun stay concealed or you might well lose your life and your Glock along with your money.

A better answer may to all of this may be to consider “mandatory carry.” Think about it. If everyone knew that everyone else over the age of, let’s say, 12 is armed, I believe most crimes such as abuse, robbery and rape would diminish dramatically. Oh, there might be a few more killings, but that would might be the price we have to pay for our safety and security.

Now you may ask if, under the terms of mandatory carry, there the possibility that a bad guy could still get the drop on you, so to speak. We can easily take care of that contingency, too. We simply mandate that everyone must have loaded gun right in their hand whenever they are in public places, preferably in their right hand. Just think about that for awhile. Imagine a crowded political rally or a big sports event or even a busy shopping center with men and women and even teenagers (we must have some reasonable restrictions, of course) on the alert with gun in hand peering around corners at each other. I’m feeling safer all the time.

Sometimes the most obvious solutions are the ones last to be considered.

Joseph Russell Vannier

Hoffman Estates