By Sam Hoober, Alien Gear Holsters
Two news reports went viral during the past year regarding concealed carry in the workplace. One story was of an insurance agency where the owner requires employees to get a concealed carry permit. Once they attained it, he buys them a Taurus Judge.
Another was of Didarul Sarder, a parking valet at a General Motors facility (technically he worked for a subcontractor) used his concealed pistol – for which he had a license – to detain a knife-wielding attacker who stabbed an employee of that facility multiple times. For his troubles, he was fired on the spot. Granted, he got rehired after a trove of bad publicity.
The reasons why an employer would be reticent to allow employees to carry are fairly obvious. You never know which employees are mentally unstable and could snap, petty disputes could get out of hand and what would happen if a round of downsizing occurred? Then there’s the potential for liability.
However, these are mostly the same objections that gun control advocates have about lawful concealed carry. As we all know, the predictions of blood in the streets never came true. It’s time more businesses allowed employees to carry.
Certain businesses are more likely to encounter violent criminals than others. An accounting firm, for instance, is not that likely to be robbed. However, a jeweler’s, convenience store, retail store and so on are more susceptible. In fact, convenience store clerks, according to the Department of Justice (PDF), have the highest rate of workplace homicide, second only to cab drivers, and convenience store robberies in some studies account for up to 6 percent of all crimes reported to police. According to the 2015 Uniform Crime Report by the FBI, convenience stores accounted for 5.7 percent of robberies, gas or service stations accounted for 2.7 percent, commercial houses for 14.4 percent, and miscellaneous locations for 19.1 percent.
Banks, which would seem to be the most obvious target, accounted for a scant 1.7 percent of robberies.
While the risk isn’t astounding, the fact is that bank and retail workers at are higher risk of being subject to an armed robbery than other professions.
Outside of professions that put one at higher risk of robbery, there are also workplace assaults, workplace shootings and also mass shootings at workplaces. Whilst both are not incredibly common, both can occur. Workplace assaults, beyond simple fistfights, can be deadly; disgruntled employees, deranged family members can all pose grave threats.
The woman stabbed in the Didarul Sarder case was attacked by a family member. Google “workplace stabbing” and “workplace shooting;” while not exactly everyday occurrences, these incidents do happen.
Some professions also put workers in contact with potentially violent persons on a regular basis. Mental health workers, hospital staff in high-crime areas, social workers, educators and other school staff can be in far greater danger than most other workers; why should they not be allowed to protect themselves?
One of the reasons why people carry a gun is so they don’t have to be a victim of violent crime. The odds that it won’t happen to you may be enough for some people, but not everyone. After all, an unstable person bent on committing a horrible act is not going to be deterred by HR’s disapproval, or not being able to go to that particular 7 Eleven again. Likewise, career criminals don’t care as much about the risks because they’ve chosen a life of crime.
No employer should mandate that their employees should be a victim on behalf of the company. Merely carrying a gun won’t guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen in the workplaces of the world…but it will give those who carry the ability to fight back if necessary. That makes the workplace a little safer.
Sam Hoober is Contributing Editor for AlienGearHolsters.com, a subsidiary of Hayden, ID, based Tedder Industries, where he writes about gun accessories, gun safety, open and concealed carry tips. Click here to visit aliengearholsters.com.