Arthur Frommer needs to get out more

August 23, 7:57 PMDC Gun Rights ExaminerMike Stollenwerk

Previous Next

14 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the DC Gun Rights Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Arthur Frommer

This week Arizonans were shocked when iconic travel industry promoter Arthur Frommer blogged that

"I will not personally travel in a state where civilians carry loaded weapons onto the sidewalks [and t]ourists should safeguard themselves by avoiding stays in Arizona." 

Mr. Frommer's comments, touched off a firestorm of criticism - so much so that as of publication of this column, Frommer's blog entry attracted 1,061 comments compared to the usual 8 comments or so for his other blog entries.

The crux of the criticism against Mr. Frommer's Arizona travel advisory (even by pro-gun folks like me who don't think that openly carrying long guns to oppose Obamacare is an effective means of expressive conduct even if such conduct is protected by the First Amendment) is that Mr. Frommer is basically telling Americans not to travel in, well, "most of America."  I don't want to have an online "macaca moment" here and use the term "real America" but well, let's get real:  outside of New York, Chicago, and Washington DC, us mere "civilians" (including the police, who are also civilians) can pretty much own and carry guns anywhere we want, sidewalks and all, from Pittsburgh to Seattle and most parts in between.

And why pick on Arizona?  After all, Arizona is just like most states where folks can legally open carry guns without any permit, and can carry concealed guns if they hold the proper permit.

Is Mr. Frommer also going to urge a travel boycott of the entire inter-Mountain American West where folks can legally carry concealed guns in their vehicles without any permit from Canada to old Mexico?

What about Florida and the East Coast?  Motorists on I-95 can freely carry guns in their vehicles from Virginia all the way down to the Conch Republic without any permit, and all of those states issue and recognize permits to conceal guns while on foot as well, meaning its highly unlikely that anyone can walk more than 20 paces even on Ocean Drive near Wet Willies or the South Beach promenade without brushing past a fellow American legally carrying a concealed handgun.

And then there's restaurants serving alcohol!  Frommer better put out a warning on those darn things too as very few states ban gun carry in alcohol serving restaurants (even fewer next month when a new Arizona law takes effect to allow concealed handguns in restaurants serving alcohol).

How 'bout a travel advisory against visiting National Parks starting February 2010?  Effective that month a new federal law de-criminalizes gun carry there too, finally making National Parks as gun friendly as federal National Forests and BLM lands have been for as far back as anyone can remember.

Well Mr. Frommer?  Are you going to keep blogging against travel in your own country?  Let us know.

In the meantime, please try to get out more.