AUGUSTA, Maine — A legislative committee approved a bill on Monday that would allow state employees to bring guns to their workplace, provided they have a concealed weapons permit and keep the firearm locked in their vehicle and out of sight.
LD 1603, sponsored by Rep. Dale Crafts, R-Lisbon Falls, was modeled after last year’s bill, LD 35, which drew spirited debate before it passed in the House and Senate and became law. That bill allowed private sector employees with concealed weapons permits to bring guns to their workplace if they were left in the car.
Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, the Senate chairman of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and a co-sponsor of the bill, said the new bill’s intent is simply to give state employees the same rights as private sector employees.
The measure was approved by the committee on a 7-5 vote.
Five Democrats on the committee voted against the bill. They also indicated in their minority report that they not only hope to kill that bill but also overturn last year’s legislation.
The bill now goes to the House and Senate for debate and votes.
During a public hearing late last month, a handful of people spoke in opposition, including Bill Harwood, representing Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence.
“It’s unfortunate that this bill is here, coming on the heels of the controversial bill last spring,” he said. “There is no compelling reason for these employees to have guns at work in their car.”
Peter Gore, vice president of government relations for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, also opposed the bill on behalf of many employers he’s spoken to since last year’s bill, LD 35, passed.
Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, and Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, said they hope once LD 1603 comes to the floor, it will be struck down, along with LD 35. They echoed what Gore said about business owners reporting that allowing employees to bring weapons to work premises make other employees feel less safe.
“Actually, the vote was very close last year and I think the the business community was not as engaged as it wished it had been and it took them by surprise,” Haskell said.
No one spoke in favor of the bill at last month’s hearing, but the National Rifle Association of America submitted written testimony in support.
“When the state allows employees to park on their property, the property rights of the state should not negate the constitutional right of self-defense for their employees,” the NRA letter read.
Just what we need…. NOT! Already too many loose nuts around!
A loose nut who has the mind to do harm to people isn’t going to be stopped by a law prohibiting state employees to carry firearms in their vehicles to work.
I have just two words you GOTea Party fools behind this insanity …. postal workers.
Really that’s your argument? You’re talking about people who planned murder ahead of time and committed the acts and you want to compare them to law abiding citizens? BTW, I’m not GOP and I’m not a Tea Partier but I do believe in that little thing called the Constitution. It’s that thing that allows you to compare law abiding citizens to murders without fear of reprisal. Google it, it’s pretty interesting.
You know you got to wonder how it was in the past, there was a time when it wasn’t uncommon for anyone to have a rifle or a shotgun in their vehicle during deer season. What’s changed from then and now?
What has changed? The number of random senseless murders at places of employment by unstable people (or druggies) who have an argument with their coworkers. Their solution is to grab a gun and use it. The same goes for people who are repeatedly harassed by coworkers. They finally get to the point where they do not see any way to stop it except with a gun.
I can’t say whether either case is a justification for restricting guns, but I have worked with unstable people and think my coworkers and I were lucky at the time that the individual did not have a gun.
And yes, I am a liberal who has several loaded guns within easy reach.
It isn’t a case for restricting anything. Firearms laws are the least restrictive as they have been in years and guess what? Violent crime continues to decline to all time lows. Gun control is feel good legislation that has no real world impact aside from restricting the rights of law abiding citizens.
Do you even know where gun control comes from? It gets its roots from keeping guns out of the undesirables hand back in the 30s (and years previous) through into the late 60s. Do you realize who those undesirables are? Minorities. Gun control originated as racist legislation to keep guns out of the hands of the blacks, irish, and other immigrants and in the hands of the rich white elite.
Supporting gun control is supporting racism.
Since I have taken owning a gun for granted since I was a kid I have not looked into the origins of gun control, but your post sounds reasonable. I do know from my European history studies that gun ownership in Germany and Russia predates WWI, long before Stalin and Hitler. That is why I ridicule those who try to link today’s gun laws with either of those dictators.
How many of those ” random , senseless murders ” happened by a hunter at work during hunting season ? It’d be interesting to see if you had any facts at all with which to base your comment to Kired’s post.
I am not sure how your question fits here since the discussion is about the average worker being allowed to take a gun to work. Hunters are generally stable, knowledgeable, conscientious, and experienced gun owners. Most shootings involving hunters are accidents, not someone going off the deep end at some slight at work.
As I mentioned, I am not sure the incidents of unstable coworkers is justification for preventing employees from keeping a gun in their vehicle.
The point was that in the past it wasn’t uncommon for many people to have their firearms on their work premises in their vehicles with out anyone caring. When something bad happens now, it is publicized and a large variety of people come out to criticize the event. That coupled with the growing number of people that have fallen on hard times or are of just dubious intent that will commit crimes has created a very different mindset. There is an immediate perception by many people that anyone who owns a gun is paranoid or has ill intent on others. I base my comments off of conversations with people older than myself. Back when guys would go out before work and hunt then show up in their vehicles straight from the stand to work. When I was going to college I met some alumni that talked about hunting out behind the school, that would not be kosher in today’s time.
how are they supposed to shoot people at work if they leave the guns in the car?
I know you are being mean and sarcastic but current legislation doesn’t allow for state employees otherwise legally permitted to keep a weapon in their car to do so. This is no different than if the state wasn’t letting employees to keep bibles in their car. Guns have a very emotional effect on people that keeps them from thinking rationally but replace gun with any other object and you will see how dumb this situation is.
Far easier than if they were not allowed on the property so were not just out in the car.
This implies that a would be murderer would follow the law outside of the murder statute.
This is totally absurd and is about nothing more than pushing the Republican agenda. If someone can explain to me how this bill improves the job market, the real estate market or the quality of my kids education, I might feel differently about these people wasting our time and money.
This bill gives state employees the same rights to self defense as private sector employees. This is something a liberal should appreciate, but liberals are so afraid of guns they cannot see past it.
I’m pretty damn liberal and I have my CFP so maybe you should think before you type.
I don’t see how that is applicable. I am quite liberal and also support firearms rights. The left sided agenda is against firearms at all costs, so liberal line of thought leans anti gun. Just because some more liberal people enjoy firearms does’t mean what I typed isn’t correct.
I am not afraid of guns, just the people who feel the need to carry them.
What is wrong with carrying a firearm? A concealed weapons carrier is much less likely to commit a crime that the average person. This is due to the fact that a person who is permitted to carry has proven themselves to be a good wholesome member of society.
Thats why you need to carry them!
A gun is just an object. Should be no more afraid of that than being afraid of a car. Its the people driving you want to look out for.
So bad things don’t happen to good people in our society? Have you seen the BDN in the past few years…robberies, home invasions, bath salts losers…. Yeah, worry about people who “need to carry guns,” while the bad people do whatever they like. If they knew every house had a loaded shotgun in it, they might be less inclined to break in.
Liberals worship Satan.
More correctly most liberals worship themselves (I know, I know it is just a play on words).
This is NOT a political position , this is a matter of constitutional rights. It is a matter of politics only if you are a socialist. I was a registered democrat until I was 50 years old and also carried a gun for sport and self defense.
When someone can explain to me when the last time the government created a job we can discuss a different agenda, but until then my rights are not a waste of time or money. Simply because you are against it or indifferent does not prevent me from pursuing my rights.
So zip it!
Why do people need a compelling reason to have and possess a firearm for self defense? To deprive people of a right affirmed by the supreme court as an individual right on the same level as the freedom of speech or the freedom of religion, is disgusting and anyone who thinks that disarming the populace belongs on their agenda is an enemy of free people.
When the people are disarmed, tyranny will reign supreme. Guns are the difference between citizens and subjects.
And who do you tyrannize with your gun? The wild, wild west was not that long ago. I personally would not want to return to that.
Wild west was closer to Mild West. Your thoughts of shootouts all the time are fairy tales. Gun ownership and concealed carry are at an all time high and violent crime is at an all time low. Get a grip on reality and learn the facts.
Well maybe not quite so mild, I had an ancestor who went out west to work on a ranch about 1865-68. Not locating much information or burial location on him, I contacted a Historical Society. They informed me there were a lot of shoot outs called “range wars” (learned about them in school). Since most men were buried where they were dropped they can’t really say how many lives were lost but think there’s a lot more then people imagine… A lot of these fights were so remote people didn’t hear about them.
I’m not against guns.
“An armed society is a polite society” is not just a bumper sticker.
Darn right. Just look at Somalia, the most polite people in the world.
That is a perfect example of tyranny, one we avoid by keeping those in power in check.
Yes it is! One million gun related deaths in my forty something years. A majority were innocents. Tell the survivors how polite that is!
The “Wild West” is mainly a fiction created by Hollywood in the 1940s through the late 60s.
The reality of the American West in the 1800s was that there were very few law breakers and hellions. Though guns were common, not everybody carried. Far from it. The West was mainly a time of farmers, ranchers, and miners working very hard at a very tough living in a very harsh environment. Violent crime was very low.
Mainly it was Hollywood telling and retelling the stories of a few criminals (Jesse James, etc.) and a few incidents (OK Corral, etc.) again and again.
Most of the violence was White against Native and even then the story wasn’t one of constant shoot outs.
If not for John Wayne, The Gunfighter, Gunsmoke, etc., we’d have a very different, and much more realistic recollection of the old, American West.
Fairy tales are hardly reason to base a fear of guns on.
This bill gives state employees the same rights to self defense as private sector employees. This is something a liberal should appreciate, but liberals are so afraid of guns they cannot see past it.
edit: double post
If I bring a handgun to work and lock it in my trunk, and if I keep my mouth shut, who will know it is there and who needs to know about it. Also, If I do have a handgun in my car and it is parked at a state parking lot, do I loose the right of search and seizure? Does the State have the right to just search my car because it is parked in their lot? So again, if I bring the gun to work and it is locked in the car, and I KEEP my mouth shut who cares and there would be no reason for this bill. Just for the record, I believe if I pass the process and have a “concealed weapon permit”, I should be able to have my weapon with me when and where I feel the need.
A person only has to replace ‘gun’ with something else to realize how silly this is. If the state wasn’t allowing employees to have bibles in their car then everyone would be freaking out. First and Second amendments are both individual rights and equally important to a free society.
“A person only has to replace ‘gun’ with something else to realize how silly this is.”
Okay.
I pick pipe bombs.
Can a person lawfully possess pipe bombs in otherwise conditions?
Interesting hypothesis. Probably depends upon intent. If you are taking out woodchucks who are eating your squash then it may be alright. But don’t bring it to the police station.
The constitution doesnt mention pipe bombs. Moot point.
Well not entirely moot. For the constitutional argument yes, but this law is also allowing state employees the same rights as private sector employees. If a person is lawfully allowed to possess an item, regardless of what it is, why should the state restrict them from keeping it in their vehicles.
In this day people would fight to keep Bibles out of locked vehicles. Some atheist my accidentally see it while walking by…
Then,….what’s the point of bringing it? All you have to do is “keep your mouth shut”? Of course, even if you did have one, and something happened at work, what good is it? The fact of the matter is, if a state worker can have a gun in their car, then why can’t a teacher? Or perhaps a security officer, or maybe even a bank manager? or a night janitor? Where does it stop? Why don’t we just arm everyone, based upon gun and records that are unreliable, and quite frankly, not investigated. For instance, there is no mental health investigation as it relates to gun permits in Maine. So, according to you, people that work for the state, don’t have any mental health issues? Let’s ask the post office, or schools about people with these issues.
Your going to say, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. But it’s gonna be a hell of a lot harder to kill people with a gun …..if you don’t have one! The killing needs to stop, and it starts with getting guns off the streets.
And in opposition to the NRA statement, if a person is entering upon state property, their constitutional right is as a citizen is as equal to that of the state employee. If people know, that employees are allowed to have weapons, what prevents a person looking for the same? Especially such as a DHHS child custody hearing? or a child custody visitation?
There’s no logic involved, it’s asking for something bad to happen.
In places where guns are heavily restricted people resort to other means. Knives, bats, you name it, but violence does not disappear when guns do, it just turns to other forms.
This is the same old rhetoric we keep hearing any time any gun bill comes to the table and it’s one the doesn’t work. First of all, just like the bill last year to allow non-federal employees to carry in their vehicles, is in no way aimed at allowing the people to bring their firearms into work with them. (Although I’d like to see that as well along with Campus Carry) It’s so people can transport them in their vehicles and carry before and after work. If it’s locked in their vehicle it’s of no danger to anyone.
Secondly, people are carrying all the time in all kinds of public places and we don’t hear about concealed weapons permits holders getting into shootouts now do we.
Third, criminals don’t care about rules, laws, or anything else that provides for the safety of those around them. What you’re doing is associating everyone who carries a firearm with criminals which is ignorance as its highest level.
Fourth, the Brady Campaign just released their scored cards for states with the best gun laws last month and there was indeed a correlation between state restrictions and crime. California, New York, Mass, and DC were all at the top of the safety list and guess what…they’re at the top of the crime list as well. Removing firearms for law abiding citizens just makes them better targets for perpetrators.
Lastly, like it or not my right to protect my family and myself falls into my hands, not yours and not law enforcement. LEO’s are mostly there after the fact to figure out what happened. I’d just as soon they’re taking my statement as to why I felt the need to defend myself rather than asking the suspect why he felt the need to harm me. Simple as that.
The same people that you see supporting OWS, protecting criminals, pro welfare, and pushing their liberal BS everyday are the same who have a problem with this.
You may as well save any logic on the likes of
rusjan,
KayakMomma, or
Bangorian.
here here!
I don’t know why teachers cannot have guns locked in their cars ON school property except for there is a law prohibiting it. Of course, given the political make up of most in education, there would be very few of us who would have a gun at all.
So by “getting guns off the street,” you mean “make it illegal to have them so only the criminals will have them…..as they already do.
I know, why don’t we outlaw cocaine. If we do that, then nobody will have it, right?
As for asking for something bad to happen, I would argue that those who don’t arm themselves to protect themselves are the ones “asking for something bad to happen.”
The point is if you bring it and “keep your mouth shut”, as you so eloquently put it, you are breaking the law! And if the law means that little to you, you should not possess firearms!!
Okay, just let me know when and where you are so I cannot be there.
Do you bring a kayak to work ? You must understand that I almost drowned once and am deathly afraid of kayaks. Should the law step in and prevent you from doing that ? I’d sure feel more comfortable if I didn’t see kayaks around anywhere but I’m told it’s your right although I can’t find the word kayak in the constitution .
Exactly…
Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
I own guns, multiple guns, but I see no reason to be able to bring guns to work.I’m not law enforcement, nor am I afraid that someone will come to my workplace to do harm. I’d like to see more emphasis on job creation and less of social engineering.This is just another bill to placate the far right.
yep-I agree-I own multiple guns–live in Virginia where I can carry it where ever and when ever I want but work in DC—don’t feel a need to carry a gun to work–couldn’t do it anyway–it would be illegal in the district and really illegal in a federal workplace (unless you are a law enforcement officer or security guard)—and I’m not the insecure, fearful type who thinks I need one to protect myself. Waste of time for the legislature to be doing this nonsense.
You know I was wondering, why on earth would anyone want to bring a weapon to work. I guess maybe if they were going hunting afterwards and home was a long drive in the wrong direction. What about bringing a gun to a bar? A church? A school? Court? I don’t claim to have an answer. I do not own a gun but have nothing against gun ownership. Yet sometimes I think, in extraordinary situations, weapons can be a source of trouble.
This law has nothing to do with bring a gun into any where. This has to do with getting state employees the same rights at the private sector employees .
It is unlawful to possess a firearm in a bar in Maine.
Your point is well taken perifunl. If every other citizen can carry a weapon to work then why not state employee’s? I’m not sure, as the NRA claims, it is an issue of denying someone the right to defend themselves. I, like 99.99% of everyone else posting comments here, am not an expert in Constitutional Law. Or even the laws governing ownership and use of a firearm.
Thanks for the info on firearms in a bar. That law makes sense to me. I suppose there was a long drawn out discussion on the constitutionality of that law too.
Think about it this way: If I am a state employee with a CCW and on my way to work with my firearm what do I do with it when I arrive? I am breaking the law 5 days a week if I cannot legally keep my firearm in my vehicle
Thank you for telling the truth!
Actually, when I worked in Presque Isle in the 80s and 90s I used to bring my shotgun to work, leave it hidden and locked in the car, in the fall, then go bird hunting for a few hours after work. Nowadays, I suspect that my fellow passengers on the Virginia Railway Express would be annoyed if I hunted birds (or deer) from the railroad car during the afternoon commute. lol
If you work in a place like DHHS where the clients include people being forced to pay child support, losing their children because they neglect & abuse them and people receiving welfare, you would want to have a gun handy.
I see your point. Say, would a metal detector at the door work just as well? Maybe even better because that would negate the need to shoot someone in the first place. Just asking.
Just liberal talking points, how bout something new people???????
It is not a waste of time, if you work for the state and you have to park on state property how then do you utilize your concealed carry permit? Not everyone with a gun is insecure or fearful like you suggest, that’s projection and I am pretty sure you do not own any.
wrongo Maineak99—I own 3 pistols–a 45 1911A (manufactured by Remington-Rand in 1942, not Colt), a Smith and Wesson Model 14, 38 special, and a S&W model 63, a 22, the so-called kit gun because it fits in a mans shaving kit. I also own 2 shotguns, a winchester model 24 side by side double 16 gauge and a remington 870 12 gauge pump. Finally I own one rifle, a winchester model 94 in 32 caliber, not the 30-30. All are family heirloms. I used to own more but have sold a few over the years. If you want to come to Virginia I’ll be happy to let you inspect them. I used to have a concealed weapons permit 30 years ago but I only carried a pistol concealed once and felt so odd, I never carried again—and let it lapse after a couple of years—-and if you aren’t fearful of being attacked why are you carrying a concealed firearm? I live in a much more crime ridden place than Maine, yet don’t feel a need to carry. I’ve grown up and don’t feel as insecure as I used to.
“I see no reason to bring guns to work”
Tell that to the victims of the following crimes:
Luby’s restaraunt shooting, texas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby's_massacre
23 people killed, 20 wounded.
Virginia tech: 32 dead, 25 wounded.
(yes a college, but also a workplace)
Southern California salon shooting: 8 dead, 1 wounded.
Boston pizza delivery man killed
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-06/justice/massachusetts.pizza.delivery.death_1_pizza-delivery-man-boston-police-wcvb?_s=PM:CRIME
And many, many other examples of people being killed while at the workplace.
So tell me, what do those places have in common?
They deny their workers the right to carry firearms or are “gun free” zones.
Why should an employer have the right to strip a citizen of their god-given right to protect themselves?
I’m not taking sides here but if 4 examples out of 325,000,000 people are all you can come up with then having a gun at work doesn’t make sense. Statistically speaking, having guns around or not having them around makes no difference. It’s really not a good argument for carrying a weapon. Again, I’m not taking sides so don’t rip me a new one. I’m just saying that statistically it doesn’t make any significant, or even measurable, difference. I know, now you’ll say that if I was one of the few who took the hit I’d say to heck with statistics. Perhaps you are right. However after 60 odd years I’ve never been victimized by a gun. By a knife yes, but not by a gun wielding assailant.
If you would like me to list the tens of thousands of examples then i’ll gladly provide the links. But I don’t want to write a ten page comment with them.
But I’m sure that you’re intelligent enough to look up the examples for yourself.
Just google:
Pizza delivery man killed.
restaruant shooting
mcdonalds shooting
clerk killed
the amount of search results are really astounding.
It’s not a pleasant thing to think about, but it is the reality that it happens every single day in the u.s. and to deny people the right to self defense is the real injustice.
Here are the governments own stats on crimes involving guns (not where someone was actually killed):
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/guns.cfm
I have to be honest and say they are higher than I thought, just under .09% annually for the country. The actual homicide rate (does not include accidental death) for 2005 using a gun was 10,100 victims, a ratio of 0.0000288 to 1, or slightly less than .003%. Not high and yet 10,100 victims is still quite a few people. I have to assume that the vast majority of those murders were drug, gang, and domestic assault related and I don’t run in that world. Never have.
As you probably know many of the stats are manipulated to bias one view or another and it is difficult to find clean numbers that haven’t been skewed. This is particularly true when looking at other countries that are similar culturally to ours.
I’ve said many times that I do not own a firearm and do not really feel the need to own one. Nor do I shoot for sport. I’ve also said that I do not oppose gun ownership. Truth is, we are in a rural area and have a major coyote problem around here. I may buy a rifle to keep them out of the poultry house. That said, I don’t want to kill anyone for stealing some change out of my car at midnight. Nor in all honesty do I expect to have a gun wielding drug crazed maniac come through my door at 2:00 am. Statistically it just will not happen.
It would make sense to you if you or one of your family members were one of those 4 examples. But, again no one is talking about taking guns into work, it is about being able to use your CCW more that twice a week.
Schools have the right to search cars in the parking lot of the schools. At the very least the state should have the same right to do so in the state facilities parking lots as well.
This more of a protection law. I’ve know a few people that carried firearms in their cars at various state facilities and educational properties for years. If they were caught they would have been terminated as well as jailed. This is more less giving these folks equal protection from being charged.
Normally the Police or Employers do not have the right to search your car but there some instances where they could have a reasonable suspicion or grounds. My friend would be screw in these cases. (These folks do have CWPs)
Most everyone has one up here…LOL
Talk about dumb. Jobs needed…. Health Care needed…… Voting rights needed…… Not stupidity which appears in abundance in Augusta.
What voting rights don’t we have in Maine?
Jobs? I think the liberals in government have done a pretty good job of scaring other people’s jobs out of state (other than the government workers’ jobs, that is.)
Kiss my barrel does not have the same warmth as kiss my butt.
A well armed society is a polite society.
Gun control is great, if you are the one controlling the guns.
This is a no brainer. Higher federal courts ruled that all civilian employees have a right to bring their personal firearm to their workplace if it’s locked in their vehicle. The same rights apply to state and federal employees.
Typical democrats, against the second amendment. They say bigger goverment will meet your needs.Give us your tax money and your guns we will take care of you. How do they know whos bringing guns to work ?the criminals probably do. state employees should have the same right. You know the same employees that have to pay union fees to support the democratic party.
I have a concealed weapon permit . I have had it since I was 22. When I got mine the towns selectman had to approve it. I always carry. Its my right. Many people died to insure me of that right. People are against it rite up until they need it. I dont want to find myself in that situation
The last thing we need is State Workers bringing guns to work. Is this LePage’s idea of creating jobs? I guess if it will help close his big mouth it will be worth it.
Now here’s a real valuable piece of legislation. Can we go back to voting on the whoopie pie instead?
Our problems are solved !! Many thanks to the Hydro Assist snake oil salesman, Dale Crafts, for his diligence.
Liberals have guns to!
Come on Democrats, wake up, gun control is futile,
and it looses you voters!
Sadly, despite any degree of punitive measures, those who choose to assault, rob, and terrorize recognize no boundaries. Allowing those who have demonstrated through training and a law abiding record the right to possess a concealed carry permit to have their firearm locked away, but available demonstrates good common sense. It always seems puzzling to hear from those who continually attempt to restrict those law abiding citizens who want nothing more than to defend themselves and those whom they love. When concealed permit holders were finally authorized to carry their fireamrs into Acadia Park, this newspaper predicted people bringing semi-automatic weapons into the park for target practice and general mayhem. During the recent move in most states to provide “shall issue” provisions regarding the issuance of carry permits, most mainstream media predicted “Wild West shootouts in the streets” and other such scares. Local and national statistics clearly demonstrate that the ability of law respecting citizens to own and carry firearms to reduce random attacks perpetuated upon within our communities. It would seem to be much more productive to go after those who prey upon others with increasingly concerted efforts.
Ok , so the state workers must be afraid of the taxpayers for them to be considering carrying guns in their vehicles! I can see that , especially how the state has been taking care of us lately ! What good would it do to have a gun in your car that was locked , i could have you unconscious in less than 1 minute with my bare hands , if i wanted too ! Some law makers have too much time on their hands it seems !
Pretty sad society when we have to tote guns around everywhere to “feel safe”.
You would feel a lot different if you were the victim of a violent crime.
Don’t ya feel safer already? This is an absurd way of codifying second amendment rights. Sometimes, even if it seems you should be allowed to do something, it is ill advised to even consider. This is one of those things. Who will be the first to stroll out to the car and brandish their killing device? Will it be a state worker with a vendetta? An angry spouse? Or will some criminal be poised to attack just seconds after the lawful gun owner sets in his/her car after work? I can imagine no plausible scenario in which anything good will come of this.
So with all the problems in the State of Maine, a Park And Shoot Law is what the NEOCONS focus on. This wasn’t a problem crying for a solution. It is just pandering to their voter base.
Sure anyone can bring a gun to work in the the trunk, back or compartment of their car, but it is totally irresponsible to promote and pass legislation that encourages it.
Republicans never do anything that is socially constructive or beneficial.
Well G, with all the theft at the state level you Democrats have gotten away with the past 42 years, I would like a fire arm to protect me from people like you
Considering your “just do it and be quiet” solution is a violation of law I think the legislation is needed to bring state worker’s rights on par with private sector.
what a great idea.. state workers are so level headed maybe with guns they can steal more from the public everyone will be worried to talk back them and when they get caught they can just shoot themselves and save the taxpayers court costs how about letting them drink on the job too
Five good Democrats exhibiting good old common sense.
If the teapublicans pass it, how about drug testing, psychiatric testing, safe gun handling tests every six months with appropriate fees?
Each day’s newspaper is another revelation into this screwed up society we live in, where people are knifing, biting, kicking, shooting, and bludgeoning each other.
Why does anyone need to carry a concealed weapon to work? Why?
{Why does anyone need to carry a concealed weapon to work? Why}
I think that you answered your own question!
{Each day’s newspaper is another revelation into this screwed up society we live in, where people are knifing, biting, kicking, shooting, and bludgeoning each other. }
You already have to submit to a drug test to work.
This will make it easier for employees to go nuts and start shooting after they’re fired…thanks Maine!
If they’re that screwed up then no amount of laws would prevent it.
BUT
Prohibiting other people from having the means to defend themselves is just setting them up to be victims.
What is stopping some one from bring a gun to work an killing some one now ??
Wonder if this anti gun Supreme Court Justice will change his mind about gun control now after getting robbed at machete point….
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/13/us/justice-breyer-robbed/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
What could go wrong with this stupid idea?
Why is it a stupid idea?
Because they just added $500,000 to their budget to scan and search people from entering the building so they are NOT bringing in weapons. So where’s the logic in doing that and then wanting more guns? It does not compute.
”
Five Democrats on the committee voted against the bill”
what a surprise!
It’s heartwarming to see Peter “Thank You For Smoking” Gore finally spin on the pro-humanity side of an issue.
The republicians and the NRA dreadful combination.
This makes no sense, seeing as how the Legislature voted to heavily protect themselves with scanners and searches, like an airport. They didn’t feel safe, they complained, and as Senator Plowman, a Republican led the effort, they voted a $500,000 to fund more security and to use the big equipment. But still, they want to allow guns to the building? Insane.
So this is all State Workers? Presumably not the workers in the State House, since guns are not allowed there and the Legislature increased their budget to scan and search and keep guns out. The Cross Building, though, and other state offices, do not have the scanners, so maybe they just want to protect themselves from the guns and the rest of the world can hang. I find this so illogical and bizarre.
First of all the title of the article is misleading and apparently a lot of people did not bother to read the article or the legislation.
Summary of LD1603: “This bill provides that the State may not prohibit a
state employee who has a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm from keeping
a firearm in the employee’s vehicle on state property as long as the vehicle is
locked and the firearm is not visible.”
So your, why would someone want to bring a gun to work, Or I own gun and I live in ___ and I can see no reason to bring a gun to work comments are way off base.
Just because you do not wish to exercise your second amendment right does not mean everyone else has to leave theirs home as well. Having a firearm locked in your car on state property is illegal. That means that my concealed carry permit is useless any day I go to work. That’s why….