Toting a Gun

One of the more compelling pieces of talk radio I have recently heard involves the tale of a man named Mark Fiorino. Fiorino openly carries a holstered handgun. Recently, while walking in Philadelphia, he was challenged and then put under arrest by police suspicious of his gun possession. The police were pretty rough with him, and he captured the dialogue (or, rather, confrontation) on a voice recorder.

I've heard Fiorino interviewed and he sounds very well spoken and very knowledgeable of the law. Even the city's police commissioner has stated that Fiorino had the right to carry his firearm and that the police were wrong.

Unfortunately, the incident that transpired between Fiorino and the police sounds like a civilian looking for a fight and a police officer too quick to become aggressive with a potential problem. There's good coverage of it on The Daily News website and on Michael Smerconish's website.

I'm not opposed to one's right to own a handgun. I can't say, however, that I find the open carrying of a firearm tactful and comforting. Toting firearms is something I'd rather see law enforcement and the military do. So few of us have training in the use of them, and when one is not comprehensively trained, the likelihood of something bad occurring multiplies.

I'm glad I don't feel compelled to walk around with a gun on my hip. It seems more important to trust one's neighbors, one's police, and one's faith to protect them rather than instinct and lethal force.