He recommended that his off-duty deputies carry their service weapons, along with extra magazines, in case they encounter a terrorist act in progress.

But what about the average citizen? If we're trained and have a license to carry, should we arm ourselves? Sheriff Urquhart had a refreshing answer when I interviewed him Tuesday night on the Jason Rantz Show (weeknights, 7-10 p.m.).

"I'm not going to be presumptuous and say somebody should carry a gun and I'm not going to be presumptuous and say somebody shouldn't carry a gun," Sheriff Urquhart declared. "To be armed is a very personal decision ... and everybody has to make that decision themselves without input from me and frankly, anybody else."

He says that if you choose to arm yourself, take special care of the responsibilities that comes with this decision.

Usually, we're told by public officials that being armed is never the right move and that we ought to leave it to the professionals. For the Sheriff to be so even-keeled and rational is so refreshing, especially since it'll likely tick off local anti-gun activists who want him to tow the line of saying no to citizens with guns.