Starting Wednesday, those carrying concealed weapons are allowed to enter Arizona's roughly 5,300 establishments licensed to sell alcohol, as long as they don't drink. If those bar and restaurant owners don't want guns on the property, they must post a sign indicating that they are not allowed.. . . the new law was an eventual compromise between those who wanted to preserve business owners' rights and those concerned with gun-carry rights. Rather than allowing "open carries," the law restricts the gun owner to concealed weapons. The gun owner also is not allowed to drink.
Those who do drink while carrying -- or who bring concealed weapons into establishments that have posted bans -- could face Class 3 misdemeanor charges, punishable by 30 days' jail time and a fine of up to $500, according to Steve Duffy, an attorney who represented the beverage association. They also risk loss of their concealed-carry permits.
And who's going to make sure all those drinkers at the bar aren't packing? Bartenders? Waitresses? The hidden hand of the free market?
Okay, whatever. What makes this doubly awesome is the obvious social benefit derived from putting people with lots of guns in close proximity to lots and lots of alcohol:
The correlation between alcohol consumption and criminal behavior has received a great deal of attention. A recent report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (1997) found that 80% of individuals in prisons and jails in this country are or have been major substance abusers. According to the study, 21% of state prison inmates and 11% of federal inmates incarcerated for violent crimes were under the influence of alcohol (and no other substance) when they committed their crime. A United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics survey (1992) noted that 59% of victims of violent crimes reported that the offender was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. A 1987 report by the Secretary of Health and Human Services cited that "alcohol is a key factor in up to 68% of manslaughters, 62% of assaults, 54% of murders/attempted murders, 48% of robberies, and 44% of burglaries" (Minnesota Institute of Public Health 1995). In addition to violent crimes, the problems of "DUI" or "DWI" (driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated) crimes clearly pose dangers to law-abiding citizens.
I can't wait for us to make the top of this list. Break out those foam fingers, cowboys!
---Vitelius
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