More polite thugs? What a concept.

The gun shop owner is correct. The most polite place in the world is a Gun Show. I have been to many of them with a real cross section of America and there is one universal fact about each one. The people who go to them are armed, so the 6 foot 4 biker is no tougher than the 5 foot 6 fast food employee. At gun show everyone says please, thank you and excuse me. As the old saying goes, "God made man but Sam Colt made them equal!"

Concealed guns make Chicago more polite?
No.
Drawn and pointed guns?
Perhaps.

Gotta agree with #2. An NRA book signing line is the same way. Not only are the people polite, they´re friendly.

Definitely with #2. I´ve been to a lot of shooting ranges, both public and private. I occasionally run into idiots who were unsafe (usually from the cities) and bored old men who wanted to teach me how to shoot, but never anyone who was rude or obnoxious.

Thank you, Sun-Times, for the excursion into minutia.

However, there are three words that really matter. They are: Shall. Not. Be. Infringed.

[Hat tip to Joe Biden.]

"An armed society is a polite society." -Heinlein

#2.. yesir, as a little lady who cc´s for my own protection, I know the equalizing power my gun gives me. Without it, I am a victim. With it, I stand a fighting chance. The same can be said for the elderly, the disabled, and anyone really.

WE ALL deserve a fighting chance!!

Come to Oklahoma, we now have open carry. So far, it been fine.

Not hardly. You can´t shoot somebody for being impolite. Even pulling out the gun would be "menacing" or public display or assault or some other crime. I wouldn´t go to jail for a Chicago thug. No, wait, I wouldn´t be in Chicago in the first place.

The animals might not understand civility, but they do know fear. Simple fear of the unknown might give some pause.

Concealed carry WILL make a BIG dent in murders, rapes, armed robberies, and assaults, etc. that are committed against otherwise innocent, law-abiding citizens.

However, it won´t much affect the numbers of shootings and killings that are related to turf wars, grudges, revenge, and general gang-banging that are part of gang activity and in the battles for control of the drug trade.

In other words, the criminals will continue to beat, shoot, and stab one another but be less likely to go after the innocent and law-abiding. And the latter is a very good thing!

The gun shop owner, as well as previous posters, make good points. However, don´t count your chickens before they hatch. I was born and raised in Illinois, and spent a couple of years as a peace officer there. The liberals and Democrats in Illinois will find a way to keep this thing tied up for several years. Their bills "allowing" concealed carry will contain numerous requirements for registration fees(they´ll be astronomical), background checks, training classes (they´ll have requirements that will be too difficult for most people to comply with), restrictions on places you can carry, and so forth. That whole state is a "gun-free zone" for all intents and purposes and it won´t change anytime soon unless every Democratic politician in the state is gotten rid of. On top of that, most cops I knew back then were of the opinion that only they should be allowed to carry guns, and no one else. I´ll bet most of them still think that way.

Dead gangbangers and drug dealers are downright harmless. Create more of them.

The Survivors will be more polite. The dead will be absolutely polite.

Illinois with grudgingly adopt a "may issue" stance to comply. You´ll only be allowed a license for concealed carry if you´re a politican, union organizer, wealthy bigwig, or celebrity - like urban NY.

It will be better than the state´s current unconstitutional ban, but not by much.

#2, nice theory but it´s utter bs. All guns must be unloaded and strapped with a zip tie at the door. Gun owners are polite as a rule but gun shows are certainly not the wild west with all the patrons running around armed. An armed society is a polite society.