A business owner in Georgia has required his employees to get a concealed carry permit and carry a firearm in the workplace.
Check out the video below to see the employees reactions and news coverage.
Lance Toland, owner of Lance Toland Associates, says he implemented the gun policy after learning about several break-ins near one of his aviation insurance offices. Toland states that his offices are in the “top 10 meanest cities in Georgia.”
The majority of Toland’s 12 employees are women. He says the policy was motivated by concern for their safety. None of his employees objected to the policy.
Within a few weeks after Toland announced the new policy, all of his employees got their concealed carry permits. He presented each of them a .410 Taurus Judge pistol, a gun he says is an effective self-defense weapon. They are authorized to open carry in the office.
Every one of his employees has a gun either in their desk drawer or on their person, Toland says.
Now, he says that if a criminal were to break in to one of the offices, “they’re not gonna make it out alive, I can tell you that.”
“These women are professionals,” he stresses.
Toland says he doesn’t even consider job applicants who are not licensed to carry concealed. He knows that people with Georgia concealed carry permits have had a background check and are confirmed as law-abiding citizens.
“It’s also a measure of an individual’s attitude towards responsible gun ownership and being a steward of our Second Amendment rights,” Toland says.
Insurance agent Andrea Van Buren works for Toland and says the gun policy is a great idea for businesses as long as the employees agree to several things.
“You’re willing to commit to training, commit to becoming an expert on the firearm and also you have to commit to being ready to use it if you have to,” Van Buren says.
In fact, Toland says his clients are supportive of the policy and are considering implementing similar policies at their own companies.
“A lot of my clients are … high fiving me when they hear about this,” he says. “They think it’s one of the best things they’ve ever heard for a company to mandate gun ownership and to be licensed and be responsible.”
Image Credit: WSB-TV
