Last week we learned that Uber was going to begin prohibiting drivers and customers from carrying legal weapons in Uber vehicles. Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, has a similar policy. Customers have been vocal about their displeasure with the company’s decision and a petition was started online hoping to reverse the ban.
The ban is a clear violation of the driver’s right to carry as the driver is using their own car, not Uber’s car. It also makes the driver less safe from a potential carjacking, robbery or assault. It also makes those seeking a ride via Uber’s app vulnerable as they will no longer be able to carry their firearm, even though they would otherwise it would be legal to do so. Uber classifies their drivers as “independent contractors,” not employees. So Uber does not have the right to prohibit one’s constitutional right of self-defense and ability to bear arms.
Licensed permit-holders are some of the most law-abiding citizens in the country and have undergone a very extensive background check. Much more extensive than Uber’s own background check. Prohibiting weapons doesn’t make anyone safe, except the criminals. Even a licensed Uber driver in Chicago saved lives by firing on a criminal shooting into a crowded street. Prosecutors declined to press charges against the driver because he defended others.
