Fairbanks Borough Rejects Armed Employees

Local news reports

Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly members have decided they don't want employees carrying guns on the job.

The assembly Thursday night voted 6-2 to reject an ordinance that would have allowed borough employees to carry guns if they completed a concealed carry handgun course.

Assemblyman Karl Kassel, the borough's former Parks and Recreation director, said he had supervised an employee who carried a gun before a 1996 rule prohibited them. Working with an armed co-worker made other employees uncomfortable, he said.

An accidental shooting was a bigger worry, Kassel said. Trained professionals have been affected by accidental shootings, he said.

"Over 600 are killed every year accidentally by firearms, way more than are killed from massacre situations," Kassel said. "That's a bigger risk and liability than some nut coming through the front door. I really don't think it's a good idea to add guns to the workplace."

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/07/12/2972392/fairbanks-borough-rejects-armed.html#storylink=cpy