The Georgia House recently passed a bill that will allow gun owners to carry their concealed weapons into places like church and Chili’s and other restaurants that make less than half of their profits on alcohol sales.

As I read about this in an issue of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I was submerged in an internal debate

Being the libertarian that I am, I completely recognize the right to bear arms; however, I really don’t think it’s necessary.

Why on earth would someone need to be armed while in a place of worship? Is our society really that dangerous?

As I was discussing this with a friend of mine, he explained to me that his father always carried a gun with him and I found myself incessantly rolling my eyes. We live in McDonough—not Bankhead, and even if we did live in Bankhead, or Manhattan for that matter, we wouldn’t need to be constantly armed.

While spending time in the city, I observed that if you’re minding your own business, 99 percent of the time you will not be a target of a shoot-out. People are generally not that concerned with people they don’t know.

I don’t understand; does the fear that people have come from the fear of being mugged by a high school student in a dark alley of the city? Or does the fear come from the thought of being a target of a crazy person with a loaded gun?

If it’s the first case, I can almost completely guarantee that a confrontation by a mugger can be stopped if you simply hand over the $20.00 in your wallet. If you’re not the push-over type, take up karate and learn self-defense. Everyone knows Jet Li is cooler than Chris Rock, and it’s because Li knows Karate.

If it’s the latter reason, I’m afraid I have no quality suggestions when it comes to dealing with internal paranoia (need I mention again that we live in suburban McDonough?).

Unless you’re Mr. John or Mrs. Jane Smith, or working in the same line of business, there is really no need to be armed.

I probably won’t be the first to tell you that our seemingly-liberal rights to bear arms come only because the Republican law makers are funded by the NRA, I also wont be the first to tell you that politicians tend to play the “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” game in politics.

While allowing us to carry a concealed weapon in more places is a move toward a more liberal government, it is rooted in corruption which is essentially a step backward.