IMHO someone's rights ends where someone else's right begins.
In case of gun laws, I guess, someone's right to keep and bear arms (including outside his/her home) ends where someone else's right to a safe environment begins. Bans or restrictions on OC and CC assume that legally armed people will behave recklessly and hurt other people.
I understand why certain states require some initial training before handing out permits (though I prefer those who trust their citizens). And why you are considered as having forfeited your right when you do something very stupid or illegal. Anything more that that is, in my opinion, assuming people are guilty before proven innocent.
How can you prove you need to carry a firearm before... it's too late?
Let's stop giving DLs until one's able to proof that he/she missed an important appointment by trying to get there by bus or walking!
I agree with most of what you have said, but our rights never end. The rights enumerated in the Constitution are not given to us by the document, they are simply protected by it. I am born with the rights that are enumerated in the Constitution as well as others that are not specifically protected by the Constitution (although most are under the Ninth Amendment). These rights are mine to exercise throughout life anywhere I see fit.
The Second Amendment states that the right "shall NOT be INFRINGED," which is a phrase that has not been properly honored.
Here in Kentucky my right to bear arms extends to every place that I may find myself in life, except Court of Justice courthouses and Detention Facilities (which both of these are not places one normally finds themselves unless trouble has come their way).
Should my right to defend myself end when I enter a business open to the PUBLIC? Absolutely not. A business owner cannot prohibit people based on race, color or religion, why should they be able to ban a person because they are exercising other Constitutional rights?
If a place isn't open to the public then of course they have the right to say who enters their residence and who doesn't, but this is not the case for public establishments -- atleast it shouldn't be. State and local governments definately should not restrict our right to carry in privately owned public establishments in any way (such as giving "no firearm" signs the force of law), because it is NOT an area they have any right to legislate.
What state governments need to do is protect our rights like they are supposed to, and pass legislation that makes it clear a business owner cannot be sued or held liable for the actions of an armed customer, or any other customer for that matter. The reason we have government is to protect our rights, but the government has apparently forget this.
I certainly believe in private property rights, but when you open your doors to the public they should not be prohibited from enjoying their Constitutional rights while in your establishment.
And you are right when you say we ALL have a right to a safe environment. And I agree that the only way to ensure that safety is to be able to protect ourselves; just because someone believes people shouldn't be able to carry firearms outside of their home makes no difference. This is a constitutional republic and not a democracy, therefore my Second Amendment rights trump what people think, even if it is the greatest majority. My right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness also trumps what people think, and in order for me to preserve my right to life I must be able to defend that life at all times.