The Governor's effort to turn all state agency premises into "gun free zones" is simply a bad solution looking for a problem which does not exist.  Were there a history of gun violence in state agency buildings or spaces, this action might be at least superficially understandable.  However, this is not the case.  Indeed, it is quite possible that the reason there is no history of such violence is because those who might be inclined to harm the citizens of this Commonwealth are aware that many of our gun owners regularly carry firearms and they therefore elect to pick softer targets, with no armed citizens, for their crimes.

The simple fact is that the Governor's action will make our citizens less safe, not more.  Those who now lawfully carry firearms and discourage violence will obey this regulation while those with less benign motives will recognize the opportunity this regulation creates to carry out terrible violence against the disarmed victims who obey it.  It does not need to be said that those with evil motives will not be deterred by the regulation.

Finally, this regulation is truly enforcable only if every government agency is equipped with metal detectors at all public entrances and those detectors are manned and operated by armed police or security personnel.  The equipment and manpower necessary to do this will be terribly expensive and a significant burden on the taxpayers of the Commonwealth.  Our citizens should not be asked to bear this burden to solve a problem that doesn't exist.