Update on guns in Omaha mall

This is a follow-up to my post about concealed weapons being banned in the Omaha mall.

Well, a blogger has posted pictures of the signs at Omaha's Westroads mall that state that concealed weapons (or even openly carried ones, I suppose) are were not allowed in the mall.

Here's an amusing tidbit, however... a further along, he shows pictures of the same spot - where the signs were removed. Good call.

Perhaps the most moving point is in a further blog post on the same site. Here is copied a first-hand account of the shooting. The kicker is this - the man has a gun but, despite having taken the training class, has not bothered to get the "concealed carry" permit. His reason? He isn't allowed to carry at all in the places where he would need it the most. That came back to haunt him that day in Omaha...

I do not have a Concealed Handgun Permit. I have completed the training class, but I keep putting off applying for the permit because I think it is useless. In the places I would need a gun most, I am not allowed to have it. I will not be a person living in fear and not go to Van Maur because they don’t allow guns.

My point that Open Carry needs to be easier in Omaha, and places like Westroads need to take down their “no guns” signs.

If I had my gun deeply concealed, I wouldn’t have been able to draw it very fast. However, If I had open carried, I could of drawn instantly.

Either way though, I could have drawn and taken a clean shot. However, in both cases, regardless of the laws, I am not allowed to carry a gun at all in Westroads Mall. If the laws did not oppress my rights, I would carry a gun most places (except work). I would certainly have had it in the mall as mall shootings have been on my mind since the incident at a mall involving a shotgun back in February.

My wife is somewhat cautious about guns as is my sister-in-law. After this event, both are now pro-guns. In addition, I will never again be caught without a gun.

I later learned from the news that people were shot at customer service (to my right) and the children’s section (in front of me, off to the left). This means it was only luck this guy did not target me, as I was closer to him than some of the people he shot. I have a second chance at life.

[snip]

I were allowed to carry a gun, I would have and I would have used it. That is a hard fact. I am not trying to be a hero and say that I would have tried to save lives. I am saying that I was trying to save my life, and if my family was there, their lives as well. There is nothing "hero" about what I am saying, it's about survival.

Doesn't that about say it?

Concealed weapons banned in Omaha mall

This article from the Omaha World Herald dated March 28, 2007 reports on how Omaha businesses have elected to post signs saying that they don’t allow concealed weapons on their premises. Included in the article is Westroads mall – the most famous shooting gallery in the country this week.

Here’s a couple of excerpts, but I recommend you read the whole article.

Almost three months after the start of a state law allowing people to carry concealed weapons, signs banning guns from privately owned businesses haven't exactly popped up all over the Omaha area.In fact, although some chains such as Bag 'N Save have posted signs and shopping malls such as Westroads Mall have added "no weapons" clauses to their posted codes of conduct, many small businesses haven't seen the need. And at least one that did later reconsidered. Under the law, concealed handguns are banned from some businesses, including bars and financial institutions. Other businesses and employers can ban concealed weapons from their property by posting a sign that guns are not allowed.

And the award for the most obvious comment goes to this person:

At Countryside Village, Diana Abbott, manager of the Bookworm, which does not have a sign, laughed at the question."It's not like a robber is going to look at the sign and say, 'Oh, I'm not going to rob the place.'"

This is very similar to the Virginia Tech massacre where the State of Virginia had chosen to NOT allow concealed weapons on campus. Dude went out and mowed down a couple dozen people. What if any one of them or one of the bystanders had been packing? He probably would have been stopped at some point. Same thing with yesterday in Omaha. Do you think the people in that store/mall were glad that no one else around them had a gun? Or perhaps they were hoping that someone nearby them (or even they themselves) had a gun tucked away under a jacket or pant leg.

What an interesting quandary… the police logistically can’t protect us with enough speed to prevent things like this from happening. They can only react after the fact. And yet, the government insists that we can’t protect ourselves either. In fact, they seem to go out of their way to make sure that we are not allowed to. Anyone wonder what the point of that is?