[ursavus.elemensis]

This site is about responsible ownership of guns, and the moderators (and forum members) are all ready to pounce on anyone who ever suggests that using your brain is actually OK when it comes to carrying a gun and drinking a beer. That's a real shame, because all that is accomplished by shutting down the discussion with admonishments that "guns and alcohol don't mix...period" and the like is to abdicate the opportunity to have an intelligent discussion and provide true discourse and meaningful guidance. In other words, letting the dogma fly just means you do not have anything thoughtful to say.

With that as an introduction, I do personally think that if you are going to carry a gun, you absolutely HAVE to have the capacity for logical thought and to make important decisions. And, if you drink beer, you still have a God-given, and constitutional RIGHT to not be killed by a mugger on your way back to the car. So, I will not join the chorus that wants to pretend that somehow bad guys do not target people who are leaving bars at 2 AM. If you drink, and you are going to drive a motor vehicle legally, you have to maintain a certain level of minimum sobriety. And, I submit that if you are doing that, it is not only impractical to say that someone should not carry a gun if going to a bar, but it is precisely the time that you should carry a gun. Why do people think that you need to carry a gun, ever, and yet at the same time think that you should not carry a gun when you go out to dinner or out to have a beer or two with your friends? Either you need (and have a right) to be able to defend yourself or you don't. That need and right do not disappear because you are drinking a beer. In Pennsylvania, there is no law that says you can not carry a gun when going to a bar. I believe that Virginia just repealed their silly no-guns-in-bars law.

But, as with any detail of carrying a gun, you need to be the model of responsibility and not be a drunk fool if you going to operate a car, or if you are carrying a gun. But senseless, mindless dogma about alcohol and guns not mixing is just silly talk from people who can't accept the concept of using your brain. You should not be a drunk fool, but not because someone may make you look even more foolish in court. You should not be a drunk fool because it makes it hard for you to avoid the kind of situations that compromise your security. THAT is why you neeed to use your head, drink in moderation, maintain sobriety, and exercise your right to defend yourself. So, in summary, I think it is useless to advise people not to carry guns if they go to a bar.