Gun nation: Inside America's gun-carry culture

[Valin]

Christian Science Monitor : Why Americans now carry handguns in so many public places, from parks to college campuses. Is it making the country safer or more dangerous?

Patrik Jonsson

March 11, 2012

 

garner, n.c.

 

Leaning against a scrub pine as preschoolers scurry about at his feet, Shane Gazda, father of 3-year-old twins, recalls a conundrum he faced earlier that morning: whether to take his Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun to a Groundhog Day celebration in this town's White Deer Park.

 

After all, what was once against the law in North Carolina – carrying a concealed gun in a town park, square, or greenway – is now, as of Dec. 1, 2011, very much allowed. To Mr. Gazda, who likes to shoot targets in his backyard, an event as innocent as paying homage to a rodent could turn dangerous if the wrong person shows up.

 

"Part of it is being ready for cataclysm every day," says Gazda, a hospital maintenance engineer. "And to be honest, I started carrying precisely to protect not just myself, but my family, and anyone around me who needs help."

 

(Snip)

 

 

And even More Guns!

 

 

 

That's not a gun...THIS IS A GUN!