The North Carolina State Fair is a quintessential American experience. With rides, games and tasty food have all been a part of the experience since it opened in 1853.

What have never been a part of the state fair are concealed weapons. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture banned guns on the premises of the fair in 1928, when the fair moved to its current location in Raleigh.

New legislation

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to expand the rights of concealed-carry permit holders which meant those with permits could now carry guns at any assembly where a fee is charged — like the state fair.

But this ruling comes into direct conflict with the long-standing, no-guns policy the fair and N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler have enforced for many years now.

Later, on Oct. 13, Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens rupheld the decision.

According to a recent article by North Carolina Public Radio, WUNC, the predominant concern is not about someone purposefully using weapon to do harm to those around them but about accidental discharges or misfires while roaming the densely crowded fairgrounds.

With the exception of BB guns and squirt guns found at various games and stands throughout the property, a fair is no place for a guns.Nearly a million people visit the North Carolina State Fair each year, which suggests the fair is a safe and family friendly attraction.

The biggest threat to a person’s well being at the fair should be the consumption of too many fried foods before going on a ride.

Moving away from old laws

The Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1788, a few years after our forefathers fought off the armies of the tyrannical and oppressive British Monarchy.

The United States was a young nation, and the key to our independence relied upon private citizens having arms of their own since we did not have a strong standing army. There was also no police force to protect citizens from crime. Life was very different from how it is today.

It is time for gun owners to step into the 21st century.

Fast-forward more than two hundred years to 2014. More than a million men and women make up our army which is the second-largest standing army in the world. Every town and city has a police force to protect citizens from crime. The biggest threats to the safety of U.S. citizens are in other corners of the earth — not at a state fair.

The right to bear arms is not threatened by the decision of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to ban guns at a family-friendly fair.

North Carolina is one of the most gun-friendly states in the country.

This year at the state fair, if gun-owners wish to protect themselves and create a safer world for their children, they should put down their guns and pick up a turkey leg instead.