To the editor:

In the aftermath of the concealed carry weapon law passing, it’s great to see we’re all standing. Kansans seem content to continue using words to settle disputes rather than draw and fire. It’s unsure whether Kansas is now a safer place, although one TV news station did a blurb on a concealed carrier in Topeka who was able to foil an armed robber.

Strange we never heard more of that. Proponents of the law said Kansas would be a safer place and opponents disagreed. The initial effect of concealed carry seems to be neutral for the most part.

There is a preponderance of signs cropping up in businesses and in parking lots that forbid the carry of concealed weapons. This makes it illegal to carry a legally possessed firearm into a posted business but, unfortunately, the signs do little to deter carriers of illegally possessed firearms. I’d like to propose a new sign for local businesses that would refocus their fears in the right direction – point being that it is generally criminals with illegal firearms that are cause for concern, not law-abiding residents who happen to have a concealed carry permit.

The new sign should add a few words and read “No Firearms Allowed, Legal or Illegal.” Legal carriers will, of course, comply, but when individuals carrying illegal firearms see this new all-inclusive sign, they will realize they too are not welcome and will leave their firearms outside (won’t they?).

Doug Wahl,

Lawrence