Guns in Post Office parking lots

[Dead Duck]

We need to be armed to deal with Postal employees.

 

[ModernGunner]

Time to get the P.O. ban repealed, anyway.

It's as stupid as any and every other 'gun free zone'.

Sadly, that is highly likely to be 'proven' at some point. And sooner rather than later.

1. Privatize USPS

Chip, I presume you already know the USPS is private.

 

[Bill of Rights]

Does someone have a copy of the constitution that says "...shall not be infringed except in sensitive places"?

I know, I know. Preaching to the choir, and all. Two solutions:

1. Privatize USPS
2. Indiana needs to expand its castle doctrine to include conveyance (as in, the right to be armed in one's vehicle, not merely the current SYG protection)

As I understand it, SYG is already present *everywhere*, including schools, police stations, etc. You can't always be armed with a firearm, but you can always use force, including deadly force, if the use of that force is reasonable and necessary. That's a paraphrase of the law, going on memory, but accurate enough for the purpose of the discussion.

Also, when the Heller decision came up for discussion at SCOTUS, we had Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas, and they had Ginsburg, Breyer, Stevens and Souter. At that time, Anthony Kennedy was, w/r/t this decision, the most powerful man in the United States. Which way he went determined the fate of the 2A. Scalia had to write his opinion such that Kennedy would agree to it, or it would be not the majority but the dissenting opinion. You need to ask Mr. Kennedy your question about the Constitution. Were he not the swing vote, but a solid, strict Constitutionalist (as IMHO, they ALL should be!), Scalia could have written "The Second Amendment of the US Constitution very clearly states that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and thus it is clear that no federal, state, or local law regarding firearms or ammunition is Constitutional. We therefore reverse the conviction of Mr. Heller, and invalidate any and all laws at all levels forbidding or otherwise controlling the ownership, possession, purchase, sale, carriage, or conveyance of firearms. Private businesses may still forbid if they choose, but without force of law."
Pipe dream, I know, and that's not how SCOTUS works. The best we could have hoped for would have been what we got, minus the "sensitive places" section.

Honestly, while I am pleased with the fact that Kennedy sided with the Constitutional argument, the necessity of that addition generates in me a desire to kick him in some sensitive places and then say, "Now, doncha wish you had the ability to defend yourself?" (To be clear for any FBI/Secret Service/NSA/ATF folks who may be reading, this is hyperbole, and I do not mean any threat to Justice Kennedy. Having a desire does not provide either method or opportunity, and I like it that way.)

Blessings,
Bill

 

[chipbennett]

Time to get the P.O. ban repealed, anyway.

It's as stupid as any and every other 'gun free zone'.

Sadly, that is highly likely to be 'proven' at some point. And sooner rather than later.

Chip, I presume you already know the USPS is private.

Privatized in the sense that it is not considered a federal entity/facility, "sensitive" or not.

 

[mannus]

Are you for real?

Most definitely. I carried yesterday at the post office to buy some stamps.

 

[Dirtebiker]

I leave mine in the car, conduct my business inside, then re-arm once back in car. My usual PO business is 5 mins or less, so risk of an incident is negligible.

Really? How long is the average "incident"?

 

[tcecil88]

^^ Dunno, never been in an "incident". If I was so worried about being in an "incident" that I felt the need to be armed 24/7/365 no matter what, I would never leave the house. I feel can survive 5 minutes in the P.O. without having a gun on me. YMMV.

 

[CathyInBlue]

Growing up in small town Indiana, I didn't have a mail box per se. My mail box was a post office box, but the town was too small to have a post office. The post office was a small bank of PO boxes in the town grocery store. Did the fact that the grocery store owner was also the town Postmaster make the whole store a federal no-go zone for otherwise law-abiding firearm carriers?

 

[rosefarm10]

I adore Indiana. You have reciprocity laws that allow Illinois folk to carry in your state. The post office scenario is identical in Illinois. Our local office has a large public parking lot to park the car and the gun. I have the Illinois laws ingrained in my head. Indiana is SO much better!