A few years ago I went looking for material related to guns in the workplace and couldn’t find anything except “keep guns out of the workplace”.
Times have changed. Now we have classes for HR weighing both sides of the issue:
Deciding whether to ban guns in the work place is an incredibly controversial and potentially polarizing issue between employers and employees, and between ‘pro- gun rights’ versus ‘pro-gun restrictions’ advocates. But it is a decision which cannot be avoided: an employer may face potential risks if it decides to ban guns, and it may face potential risks if it decides to not ban guns. The issue is complicated by constant changes in gun laws and restrictions throughout the United States. You will learn about the latest legal developments which impact this controversy. This live audio conference shall also provide you with a strategy for making the most informed decision, in light of the law and their circumstances.
At most of the companies I’ve been employed, there is a boilerplate paragraph somewhere in the Employee Manual forbidding “weapons in the workplace.”
I never had the courage to ask if I could bring a paring-knife and an apple in my lunch-bag. Nor did I ask if a black-belt in karate would require me to leave the belt at home, or my hands.
Sometime later, I discovered that if a pocket-knife could live in my back pocket with its clip visible to the working world. If I did not draw attention to it, few people would notice.
Anyways, a piece of metal with a single sharpened edge, a knife, is usually considered to be a weapon. However, a hinged device joining two pieces of metal, each having an edge, is not considered to be a weapon. After all, it is a pair of scissors. Would the scissors become a weapon if an enraged person attempted to stab a co-worker with them?
What does this have to do with firearms at work? Not much…except to note that HR policies about weapons exhibit a slight detachment-from-reality factor.