Thanks for publicly stating that viewpoint, Officer

Chattanooga, Tennessee police officer and local print columnist Alex Teach gives both the Chattanooga City Council and the Hamilton County Commission a much-needed dose of street-cop common sense, in response to the chorus of whining from those august bodies after the Tennessee Attorney General reminded them that they just don't have the authority to ban legally carried handguns in bars and restaurants (apparently they're going to be allowed to ban them from local parks, but only have until September 1 to do so):

"Shouldn’t that seem strange that cops, the ones that deal with permit holders the most, don’t have a thing to say about them but “Thanks”?

Yes, that’s also right. When I approach a car at night, I am trained to wonder if they have a gun, whoever is actually inside it; same with a stranger at his house when called, or on the street when presented with such. I cannot properly express how mind-numbingly aggravating it is to wonder just when some random 18 or 80 year old is going to pull a gun on me any more than I can express how frustrating the question, “Do you know who I am?” is, but I’ll say this: I’m certainly grateful when the suspense is eliminated with the words, “By the way, I have a concealed weapons license; the weapon is here, I will not touch it, and here is my permit.”

Holy Hell, the first instinct I have is to follow them to a Waffle House and buy them a sweet cup of joe, NOT to enact laws against them."

Real-life police officers that patrol real-life streets on a daily basis know who the problem citizens in their community are, and that law-abiding permit holders definitely aren't them.

"Speaking as a sworn law enforcement officer, I say that carry permits serve to keep personal protection and accountability right where they should be, despite such cries: In the hands of the American citizen."

Very well put, sir. The people there are fortunate to have you working for them.