Well, to me, the outcome of the Missouri election is both frightening and sad. Frightening, because a group of free Americans, the Missouri electorate, voted to deny themselves the expression of a fundamental civil liberty. Frightening also, because of the Federal Government's agitation toward this outcome. Sad, because--since concealed carry is a proven deterrent to crime--a lot of Missourians will become crime victims when they would not have if the proposition had passed.
The defeat of the proposition makes me wonder how many Americans nowadays are willing to do the work required to tell reason from fear, truth from falsehood, and knowledge from propaganda. Ignorance of the issues is no excuse in the polling place, just as ignorance of the law is no excuse in the courtroom. But the Missourians who voted in favor of the proposition were willing to do the work demanded of informed Americans, and they should, in my view, be very proud of this, regardless of the outcome of the election.
