Did you know that tomatoes were once considered poisonous?
Up until the end of the eighteenth century, physicians warned against eating tomatoes, fearing they caused not only appendicitis but also stomach cancer from tomato skins adhering to the lining of the stomach.
To prove they weren't, a Colonel ate an entire basket of tomatoes in front of a crowd of people
As the story is told, it was Colonel Johnson who on September 26, 1820 once and for all proved tomatoes non-poisonous and safe for consumption. He stood on the steps of the Salem courthouse and bravely consumed an entire basket of tomatoes without keeling over or suffering any ill effects whatsoever. His grandstanding attracted a crowd over over 2,000 people who were certain he was committing public suicide. The local firemen's band even played a mournful dirge to add to the perceived morbid display of courage.
And, Col. Johnson didn't die. In fact, because over 2,000 people watched him eat so many tomatoes without expiring, minds were changed due to the facts they saw with their own two eyes.
Now, the people over in Podunk, Nowhere who didn't watch this happen were probably still skeptical of tomatoes. Eventually, people around them would eat them and not die, and those people would again be forced to watch reality intrude on what they once believed. Before you know it, thinking of tomatoes as poisonous became ridiculous.
Interestingly enough, we have plenty of proof that allowing the law abiding to carry firearms into places that serve alcohol simply does not result in daily drunken shootouts. However, there appear to still be plenty of people who think that, despite the MASSIVE evidence to the contrary, that these tomatoes are still poisonous.
Say Uncle links to a progressive website that gets it
Maybe, just maybe, if bar patrons in thirty-seven other states are able to resist the urge to get loaded and proceed to go on drunken Wild West-style shooting sprees, the people of Tennessee can, too. Call me crazy, but I have this idea that the people of this state are not fundamentally any different from the people in bordering states, and among our neighbors, only North Carolina prohibits weapons in bars.
Think about it. Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming allow this to happen. With that many states, with that many people, going into an enormous amount of restaurants with an unbelievable quantity of alcohol available, and you simply do not hear of inebriated shootouts over what channel to turn the tv to.
The commenters, of course, are not as ready to admit it's not a problem
My issue continues to be: Bar owners overwhelmingly seem to disfavor it, law enforcement overwhelmingly seems to disfavor it, there's no significant popular movement to insure that 3% of Tennessee's population can pack heat in Ruby Tuesday.
Law enforcement does not disfavor it, Police Chiefs do. Political positions, mind you. Patrolmen and those who are on the ground are overwhelmingly in support of it.
The great thing about this bill is that Ruby Tuesday's now has a choice. They can decide if they wish to allow certain people into their restaurants. You have the same choice to go there or not. Denying choice isn't progressive, although I find that par for the course for most of 'em.
I've had too many drunks wave guns in my face (one because he didn't like my jacket) not to worry SOME about potential consequences. If you have no concerns whatsoever you're as irrational as the pants pissers.
First off, I love how the progressives like to decry that there are never any good uses of firearms (even when I point out thousands upon thousands of stories) but always seem to find their faces full of guns every time they turn around. I'm curious to know how many people this guy has testified in court since putting a gun in someone's face is a crime. I'm betting 0.
As for the no concerns whatsoever, I've watched people eat tomatoes and not die, why should I have any concerns. Sure, there's bound to be someone with an allergy to lycopene who dies because of an exposure to ketchup, but exceptions do not make the rules.
I don't personally know of anyone who says a CCW will never get plastered and shoot someone, only that statistically the chances are so low as to be practically noise. I trust people every day to not intentionally run me over with their car, stab me with a butter knife, or pour bleach into my soup because statistically that's not something to worry about. Does that mean nobody ever does those things? No, and to claim otherwise is a flaw in your argument.
I carry in places that serve alcohol. I'll even allow myself a drink from time to time. Crossing an imaginary line isn't going to change me into an intoxicated murderer. It's time to grow up and stop trying to remove people's ability to make the choices they want.
Don't like the fact that you can order a beer at Chili's and someone might be packing heat somewhere? Then give in to your irrational fear and eat someplace else. Oh, and you might want to avoid tomatoes, they might be poisonous.