DICKSON STREET: Crowds gather laten-night in Fayetteville entertainment district. 40//29

Words of wisdom appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s coverage of a late-night shooting in the Dickson Street entertainment zone in Fayetteville early Sunday morning.

The location: A university parking lot next to Lit Lounge — “Fayetteville’s only Premiere Nightclub !  VIP Lounge, Bottle Service, DJ, Real Party Music”

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An altercation between two men escalated. A  gun was drawn. Shots were fired. Two men were struck, including Sebastian Tretola, the former Razorback who plays football for the Tennessee Titans. He was “grazed,” the article said.

The money quote from Fayetteville Police Sgt. Anthony Murphy:

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Sometimes you just can’t help things that occur at 2 a.m. in an entertainment district like that.

Precisely because of such truths, we all should be thankful that the 2017 legislature expanded the places to which concealed weapons may be carried to include establishments that sell alcohol. Because you just can’t be too careful.

The current law provides opt-outs for businesses that think so little of the safety of their customers that they post signs prohibiting firearms. Perhaps Rep. Charlie Collins and Sen. Trent Garner and other NRA shock troops can fix that unconscionable incursion on 2nd Amendment freedoms at the next legislature.

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