A Georgia business owner recently implemented a company policy requiring all employees to obtain a state-issued concealed carry permit and to be armed with a handgun for protection while doing business for the insurance firm.
Lance Toland of Lance Toland Associates, a company providing aircraft insurance risk-management services with offices in three Georgia cities, presents each employee with a new handgun once they have obtained a permit and successfully completed a safety-training course giving by NRA-certified instructors.
Toland told local television station WSB-TV this week that the slaying of his uncle several years ago influenced his decision encourage the employees at the company’s three offices to arm themselves. He has taken his policy one step further by requiring them to obtain a concealed carry permit.
And what do his clients think of the idea?
“They think it’s one of the best things they’ve ever heard for a company to mandate gun ownership and be licensed and be responsible,” said Toland, a pilot and chairman of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, according to the company website.
Toland said all 12 company employees — 10 women and two men — obtained permits within four weeks after he announced the policy, which he issued out of concern for his employees’ safety.
One employee, Andrea Van Buren, told the local television station she feels the company requirement would be a great idea for other companies.
“As long as they are willing to commit to training ... and also you have to commit to being ready to use it if you have to,” Van Buren told WSB-TV.
