FOXNews: Locked and Loaded, Judges Arm Themselves

FOXNews.com is reporting that more judges are carrying guns into their courtrooms, a move prompted by concerns over recent high-profile violence in court houses.

From the story:

"It sits beside me in the chair," Judge Arch McGarity of Henry County, Ga., said of his pistol.

McGarity and some of his colleagues were prompted to take action in the wake of some frightening incidents, like the assassination of Judge Roland Barnes during a March 11 courthouse shooting in Atlanta or threats caught on a police car camera just outside Kansas City.

"I know where that [expletive] judge sits or [expletive] judge in Platte City lives, and I'm going to [expletive] take him out," a man yelled to a Parkville Police officer in the tape.

With threats like those, it's no surprise McGarity wants added security. "I think it's more than just courtroom security. We have to be safe in our transfers from the courthouse to our homes, to our other things that we have to do," he said.

Although it's unclear how many judges are armed, those with guns insist it is a rising trend.

"It's always best to have something you don't need than to need something you don't have," McGarity said.

McGarity told FOXNews he keeps a pistol on him when he sits on the bench. The move is permitted by law, but the news report says at least one sheriff is crying foul.

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill told FOXNews "if we have a situation where we don't know who has weapons, we don't know their level of training, we don't know where the weapons are being stored and suddenly we have judges and secretaries and clerks shooting — we have a nightmare."

No, Sheriff, the nightmare is another defenseless judge murdered with a deputy's stolen firearm.