Yet Another Case for Allowing Concealed Carry at Work

By Joe DeVito

A recent event in downtown Columbus furthered the case long since proved by concealed carry advocates, that leaving employees defenseless at work is dangerous and irresponsible. A very well known Fortune 500 company has just such a policy, despite the repeated attacks on employees walking to and from their cars parked off of company property.

The area between the work building and most parking lots is well known for drug dealing, panhandling car break-ins and purse snatching.

Yet, in an irresponsible act, employees are banned from carrying at work and therefore are disarmed on their trip to and from their vehicles, plus while standing out front of the building during lunch breaks.

During one of the recent warm days, an unprovoked attack took place on a large group of company employees. Without the courageous act of two unarmed employees there could have easily been serious injury or deadly force used against unarmed innocent people.

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As they stood out in front of the building talking and enjoying the weather, several employees were accosted by a large and belligerent drug addict. The police were quickly called, but did not arrive in time to stop an incident that easily could have taken the life of at least two employees, if not more.

The belligerent drug addict first attacked an employee with bare hands, and when he took the brunt of the beating, he quickly realized he picked the wrong victim and turned to leave. Instead of leaving, however, he grabbed a butcher knife off of one of the sidewalk food carts that cater to the company employees and renewed his attack.

Now completely unarmed and facing down a drug addict with a butcher knife, no less than eleven Ohio concealed handgun license-holders could do nothing but stand and hope. The same person that was originally attacked was the target of the crack addict's renewed violence and, unless another well intentioned employee jumped the attacker from behind, things could have easily gone from bad to worse.

Only by working in behind the armed thug could the second employee distract the would-be killer from striking a blow until the police arrived.

Both innocent victims (who, I might add were trained by the author), repeated exactly the same thing after the incident, “boy, I wish I would have had my gun.” Several other license-holders echoed the statements, yet there is nothing that can be done to change the employer’s irresponsible decision to leave their employees at the whim of crack-riddled attackers.

As this entire event took place, two unarmed paid security guards stood by and watched, content to allow the employees' fight for their own life. No doubt the guards are trained to not escalate to the situation, in order to keep from provoking a wider and move violent attack - not that there is a single shred of evidence that non-resistance is the best policy in these specific situations.

Had the second employee not jumped in to help resist quickly and with escalating violence, there is no telling what could have happened. One thing is for sure - the crack addict was intent on his prey until he was distracted.

Putting profits over people when it comes to these policy decisions is based on putting liability first, and many would argue if the company is sued out of existence it doesn’t put food on anyone’s table. But neither does an employee who is shot, stabbed or assaulted at work. A person that has the ability to defend themselves at least has the option to fight for their life. An employee needlessly banned from carrying a gun at work has no such luxury.

Until corporate America realizes that a person’s right to self defense doesn’t end at work, there is little the gun movement can do to make sure another person isn’t killed because they were disarmed at work. Only a well organized movement can force employers to change their ways.

The "green" movement uses their lobby to get corporate America to create and use "green" technology; other movements stepped up and forced more equality in pay, benefits and opportunities for minorities.

Now, in light of the overwhelming evidence that proves law-abiding citizens with guns is a public safety benefit, it’s time for the gun movement to demand equal rights at work.

Only we can make it happen.