Wednesday, January 13, 2016

VA: County Supervisor Says to Remove Ban on County Employee's Second Amendment Rights


Tommy Scott Photo courtesy of wdbj7.com

In Bedford County, Virginia, Supervisor Tommy Scott has proposed a change to County administrative policy to restore County employee's ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights while at work.  Infringements such as these are common for lower levels of State and local governments.  They gradually crept into administrative codes that became popular during the "progressive" era of the last 100 years.  From wdbj7.com:
At Monday's supervisor meeting, Tommy Scott proposed a change to county policy that would allow employees with a concealed carry permit to exercise their right while on the job.

Scott teaches concealed carry classes and calls himself a strong supporter of the second amendment.

"I'm not saying that they must carry, but if they chose to do that they have a right under the second amendment to protect themselves," said Scott, who represents district five on the Board of Supervisors.
It appears that these administrative measures were slowly added in, accelerating strongly after the 1968 gun control act was passed, signalling that the elite power structure in the United States no longer trusted the majority, but wished them disarmed as many states had passed laws to disarm minorities after the Civil war.

I recall my Father, who worked for the Wisconsin department of transportation taking a pistol with him to work in the '60s.  It was not for protection, but for occasional plinking during lunch, and for the opportunistic potting of game while on the survey crew that he supervised.  I remember one particular time where he talked about head shooting a ruffed grouse at 15 yards or so.  I wasn't there, but I used a Colt Woodsman to take a squirrel out of tree at that distance in Panama 30 years ago.

In the early 1970's, I brought the same Woodsman to a "Gooseberry Crew", supposed to control blister rust, which was devastating the White Pines in Northern Wisconsin.  Several others brought pistols and we had informal target matches during the lunch break, in the middle of pine forests bordering the Namekagon river valley.

Now that Second Amendment rights are being restored in numerous states, it makes sense for local and State governments to remove these odious reminders of how everyone was told that the Second Amendment "did not apply to individuals", a conceit created by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1905.

Virginia is not the only state where local employees are regaining their rights.  We have also seen it in Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan, and Texas.

This trend is going to continue and grow.   People with carry permits approach 10 percent of the population in some states.  These are people who have shown themselves to be the most responsible and law abiding members of the community.  With public mass shooting making the news, it is only reasonable for members of the public to resume their role as the first line of defense against attack.  Police will continue their traditional role of reinforcing the citizens and insuring that the rule of law is followed in settling disputes. 

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.  Link to Gun Watch

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