In Florida where I live it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon into a courthouse even if you have a carry license. (ref: Possession Restrictions http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/possession.html)
Washington forbids carry a concealed weapon into a courtroom but apparently not the courthouse.
Prohibited places to carry?
The Washington state firearm law has designated certain areas where it is a violation of law to possess a firearm, regardless of whether you are lawfully carrying concealed. The prohibited areas are: restricted access areas of a jail; the area used in connection with court proceedings; restricted access areas of a mental health facility; that portion of an establishment classified by the liquor control board as off-limits to persons under 21 years of age; restricted access areas of a commercial service airport; and public or private elementary and secondary school premises. This can be found in RCW 9.41.300. Municipalities may also have laws, in keeping with state law, that prohibit firearm possession. emphasis added
http://www.atg.wa.gov/ConcealedWeapons/FAQ.aspx
Both states also have laws against those who use a weapon such as a gun or a knife to injure another person unless used in legitimate self defense.
Obviously someone who intends to murder will simply ignore any restrictions on where they can carry a weapon as they plan to commit a much more serious crime.
It could be argued that all firearms and knives should be banned but the difficultly of passing and enforcing such legislation are enormous. Even if such laws passed, those who have criminal intent would still have weapons while many honest citizens would be disarmed. There are at least 300,000,000 firearms in our nation and far more knives. A fairly high percentage of honest citizens would simply refuse to turn in such weapons and since in many states there is no registration of firearms and no state requires a knife to be registered, it would be extremely difficult to gather up all such weapons without cordoning off neighborhoods and sending in swat teams to search each and every house. This might lead to a rebellion that would tear our nation apart.
It might be wise to try to improve the NICS background check that is required for the purchase of a firearm from a dealer and open this system for use for private sales. The improvements to the system would require better financing for the states in order to update their records on a more timely basis. Any person who wanted to buy a firearm but had had adjudged by a state to have a serious mental problem should not be allowed to legally buy a firearm.
This unfortunately would only address legal sales. I personally feel that anyone who is involved in the straw purchase or smuggling of weapons into the inner cities of our nation should face serious prison time and also should be considered to be an accessory to any crime committed by the firearms they trafficked in.
In my opinion in honest and sane hands firearms are rarely a problem. Perhaps those who favor gun ownership and those who would love to impose draconian restrictions on these weapons can possibly reach a compromise that will help to reduce the tragedies that occur because of the misuse of these weapons.
I have no problem with reasonable restrictions being imposed on firearm ownership. It is my feeling that we need to improve and enforce existing laws. President Obama appears to agree with me.
President Obama: We must seek agreement on gun reforms
President Barack Obama Special To The Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, March 13, 2011 12:00 am
***snip***
• First, we should begin by enforcing laws that are already on the books. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System is the filter that's supposed to stop the wrong people from getting their hands on a gun. Bipartisan legislation four years ago was supposed to strengthen this system, but it hasn't been properly implemented. It relies on data supplied by states - but that data is often incomplete and inadequate. We must do better.
• Second, we should in fact reward the states that provide the best data - and therefore do the most to protect our citizens.
• Third, we should make the system faster and nimbler. We should provide an instant, accurate, comprehensive and consistent system for background checks to sellers who want to do the right thing, and make sure that criminals can't escape it.
Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/mailbag/president-obama-we-must-seek-agreement-on-gun-reforms/article_011e7118-8951-5206-a878-39bfbc9dc89d.html#ixzz1ofbJVlLO
While we can't stop all the tragedies that occur because of the misuse of firearms and even knives, we may be able to pass legislation that would help reduce the problem. It will be difficult as the issue of gun control causes a sharp divide between liberals and conservatives in our nation. Unfortunately at this time in our history both parties play politics and are not as interested in the future of our nation as they appear to be in preserving their jobs.
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