An employee at a fast food join in Chicago is facing two counts of first-degree murder after fatally shooting two customers last Monday, and the Chicago Tribune is using the incident to not-so-subtly push for "gun-free" workplaces. 

As the Tribune notes, a number of violent workplace attacks have taken place around Chicago over the past week, though the only one that appears to involve a lawful concealed carry holder was a defensive gun use. Still, the paper spoke to several "experts" who recommended that employees be disarmed in the name of safety. 

The double homicide at the Ashburn restaurant was the latest in a string of recent violent workplace attacks that occurred in the Chicago area earlier this week involving employees carrying weapons on the job.

Just hours after a Bears victory at Soldier Field on Sunday, a man employed by a company offering food and beverage services at the football stadium allegedly slashed his co-worker with a knife following a verbal altercation. Earlier that day in the south suburb of Calumet City, a Walgreens employee with a concealed carry license allegedly fatally shot a suspected shoplifter who had pulled a gun on the store workers.

Experts on occupational safety say that these recent incidents bring to light the importance of employers taking proactive steps to plan for and prevent workplace violence. 

... Chicago saw another string of incidents of workplace violence in late May of this year. During a single week, a worker at Ross department store was stabbed, a subcontractor at a Portillo’s allegedly attacked a co-worker with knives over a domestic dispute, an employee allegedly stabbed a co-worker at City Winery in the West Loop, and another allegedly pulled a gun on co-workers at the downtown Eataly location.

Experts said these types of violence demonstrate the importance of individual employers creating a sensible weapons policy, particularly given the lenience of state law when it comes to employees bringing concealed firearms to work.

“Organizations should not allow access to firearms within their premises,” said Sean Ahrens, a security consultant in the Chicago area. “In a situation where there is a dispute that (results in) someone acting out, having access to a firearm or another implement that can create significant harm, like a knife, is detrimental. So we should always attempt to keep those tools away from individuals in those types of instances.” 

Even when acting in self-defense during a robbery, Ahrens said, employees with concealed carry licenses may use weapons incorrectly and put themselves or others in danger due to a lack of training — police may even mistake them for an aggressor, he said. 

You know what else "may" happen? They may be able to defend their lives or the lives of others without using their guns incorrectly or having the police mistake them for an aggressor. In fact, I'd argue that's a far more likely outcome based on the number of defensive gun uses I've covered over the years. 

Ahrens demand for a gun-free workplace also ignores the fact that at least two of the incidents cited by the Tribune involved stabbings at restaurants or food-service locations, where knives are inevitably going to be on the premises. And while Ahern argues that every workplace should be "gun-free", the Walgreens employee who shot a suspected shoplifter who pulled a gun could easily have been killed if they weren't carrying. As it is, they may very well have lost their job, but at least they saved their life. 

The Illinois Firearm Concealed Carry Act, passed in 2013, allows individual employers to decide whether to ban guns from their workplaces through visible signage and a written weapons policy, according to the Illinois State Bar Association. A few exceptions to this rule exist: Regardless of the employer’s personal stance, concealed carry license holders are prohibited from bringing their guns to certain workplaces, including hospitals, professional sports stadiums, airports and most bars. 

Walgreens has a policy prohibiting any weapons in the workplace, a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. The Walgreens spokesperson added that the company “takes the matter very seriously” and is cooperating with local police.

The vast majority of retail locations and restaurants are hardly "sensitive places" protected by magnetometers or armed guards. They're open to the public and susceptible to robbers, angry and violent patrons, and yes, even those with mass murder on their mind. I understand the argument that allowing employees to exercise their right to carry may increase liability on businesses, but there's also a strong case to be made that if companies deprive employees of the ability to protect themselves, they should be held directly responsible for any harm that results from disarming them. 

Ultimately that's a decision that business owners have to make, but if I were working late nights at a convenience store or fast food establishment I know I'd feel much safer having my gun with me, and I'd much rather lose my job than lose my life.