Are guns a good idea?

The issue of John Q. Public carrying guns came up during an active shooter safety seminar on Saturday at Trinity United Church of Christ in Tamaqua.

One attendee asked if “no gun” rules could be created.

“If you don’t want people with guns in there, your survival rate (in an active shooter situation) just went down,” said Rich Weaver, retired chief of police in Tamaqua who was one of three experts who conducted the program.

Weaver said, “Iif I knew ahead of time when I carried by gun if I was going to need it, I would only carry the gun the day I would need it.”

He said in public buildings, it is difficult to ban guns because citizens have the right to carry them.

He addressed establishing gun-free zones: “Remember this, you can have all the laws you want. Criminals don’t obey laws. That’s why they’re criminals.”

Weaver said that as a police officer, he’s fine with people carrying guns because he feels most would come to his assistance if he was in trouble.