Walton County Employees Can Now carry Guns at Work

Walton County employees can now be locked and loaded while on the clock.

Due to a new policy, county employees, who hold an active concealed-weapons permit, can be armed at work.

The decision went into effect Jan. 28 and doesn't apply in areas where weapons are prohibited by Florida Statue, including courthouses, police departments and schools. It also excludes inmate crew supervisors.

"In the north end of this county, we have district offices that are located in very remote areas," Commission Chair Bill Chapman said during a recent county commission meeting. "I've had two of my road crew operators accosted by six and eight people at a time. ... Unfortunately, in this day and time, we have some people out there that would rather be violent toward our staff."

He added that these employees are often by themselves.

"We don't want some wingnut walking in there to take his vengeance on that person," Chapman said.

Both he and Commissioner Danny Glidewell campaigned for this policy.

"All we're actually doing is giving our employees the same rights that everybody else has," Glidewell added.

He also referenced a recent shooting at a church in Texas, where a gunman was stopped dead in his tracks by an armed churchgoer.

"The police were there in a minute, which I consider to be an outstanding response time, but it was well over with by a minute," Glidewell said.

For Walton resident Laurie Echols, the policy was a "fabulous idea."

She told commissioners that every able American ought to have a gun to be able to defend themselves.

"We live in bad times," Echols said. "We need to make sure every one of our county workers are protected against any thugs that we have out here."

Walton employees to carry guns