A Georgia business owner is requiring all of his employees to get concealed carry permits and is supplying them with guns.

Lance Toland, the owner of Lance Toland Associates, an aviation insurance company based in Atlanta, ordered his workers to obtain weapons permits after hearing about recent home invasions and violent crime in the area, a local ABC affiliate reported.

Once an employee has obtained a license, Mr. Toland presents them with a gun known as “the judge.”

Mr. Toland told ABC that the five-shot pistol is one of the most effective self-defense weapons and he wants his employees to carry them openly in the office.

“Everybody has one of these in their drawer or on their person,” Mr. Toland told ABC.

Mr. Toland said all of his employees obtained permits within four weeks after he announced the policy, which he issued out of concern for his employees’ safety.

“I have a number of offices, and most of my employees are women,” Mr. Toland told ABC.

The policy could expand to larger businesses. Mr. Toland said several high-profile business owners whose planes his company insures have expressed admiration for his policy.

“A lot of my clients are high-fiving when they hear this,” he told ABC. “They think it’s the best thing for a company to mandate gun ownership and be responsible.”

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.