College Times

Issue date: 10/15/09 Section: Blogs

Media Credit: photos.com

Here in the Phoenix area, most of us live in cookie-cutter tract homes and apartments. We wear mass-produced clothing manufactured by cheap labor overseas. We buy fast food and dine at chain restaurants.

It's a stark contrast from the wild west of yore - when a man could hunt his food, build his home with his own hands and pay for his women. Those days are long gone. Yet, so many Valley residents (even if they are transplants from other states) hang on to those Wild West ideals.

The romanticizing of Old West ideals still runs deep in the Phoenix area. It's probably a good thing. Many young people complain about there being a lack of culture in the area. But instead of it consisting of bike paths and microbreweries, it's of a delicate balance of Wal-Marts and the American Dream combined with gimmicky old-timey saloons and Manifest Destiny. I can't help but think that those are conflicting ideals.

But the two worlds collided on September 30. Now, licensed gun owners can legally take their shiny little friends, as long as they're concealed, into a Red Lobster or Outback Steakhouse, or any alcohol-serving establishment they desire on the condition that they don't drink. Many local restaurants are up-in-arms (no pun intended. Okay, maybe a little) about letting the Second-Amendment-hugging patrons into their establishments. Bar owners can override the right to bear arms by pacing government-issued "no guns" signs near their liquor license and throughout the bar.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the new law changes things in the dining and bar scene. You don't have to pass a psychiatric evaluation to own a gun. And let's face it - you don't have to be drunk to be an idiot.

But just because you have the right to do something doesn't always necessarily mean you should. Just because you can fill your toilet with Jell-O and have a little afternoon snack doesn't mean it's a good idea. Living in America means living with freedom, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't put restrictions on our own behavior.

Carry guns. Exercise your right to free speech. Practice whatever religion you choose. But please, do it within reason. In America, we can do whatever we want as long as it doesn't infringe upon the rights of others. I, like any warm-blooded American, value my right to safety over your right to bear arms. I don't see the necessity in having a gun in a restaurant, but as long as you're safe with it, I can't hold you back.

Carry on, cowboy!

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