Concealed Weapons Deter Crime

Many tragedies have occurred recently that have spurred the debate on whether or not we need tighter gun controls. On one side of the debate are the gun control supporters, who claim that the easy access to guns is the primary cause for high rates of crime plaguing the United States. On the other side are people who argue that gun laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns, since they will continue to get them illegally. Guns are used for protection when in the hands of people who obey the law. It is crucial to not hinder law-abiding citizen’s ability to possess firearms with stricter gun laws, since gun laws do not lower crime, and guns can keep people safe.

If gun control is regulated, then we will have less crime. Access to firearms makes killing easy, efficient, and impersonal, which increases the lethality of crime. Josh Sugarmann, the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center has once said, "We recoil in horror and search for explanations, but we never face up to the obvious preventive measure: a ban on the handy killing machines that make crimes so easy.”Allowing untrained people to carry guns puts others at risk and it can result in self-inflicting injuries both by suicide and unintentional incidents. Gun violence in America kills more than 30,000 and injures almost 70,000 each year. Guns can be misused and abused, which is why gun

In the first article, “The University should allow concealed carry,” by Andrew Parks, statistics are used to support his argument on allowing concealed carry at The University of Alabama. Parks includes the rarity of a shooting in Texas, his home state. He claims, “ The last time such a shooting took place in the general public was on Oct. 16, 1991” (Parks). The reason for the rarity of a shooting in Texas is due to the gun laws not being as strict as most states. Parks believes what many other Americans believe, that allowing citizens to carry firearms is a deterrent to crime and shootings. The following statistics prove Parks’ belief that conceal carry reduces

Current Gun Control regulations do not deter violence and crime. It has been shown that places that have relaxed their gun control laws have a higher crime and death rate. Data proves that homicide rates “[...] among the metro areas whose principal city is in a state that requires some form of permit to purchase a gun, is 4.32 per 100,000 residents, compared with 5.74 among cities in no-permit states”(Bailey). This is evidence that there is a correlation between gun control and death rates. It is also proven with statistical evidence that places with the least amount of gun control have the most violence. Statistics show that “‘none of the states with the most gun violence require permits to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Gun owners are also not required to register

The question of banning or permitting concealed guns evokes many more questions. According to Lott (2013), when the state legislative hearings were processed about concealed-handgun laws, the most usual concerns involved the problem of armed citizens who may possibly attack each other in the affected state that could follow car accidents, or even may accidentally shoot a dutiful police officer. However, the author argues, the evidence does not show the grounds for such fears: although 31 states have already had such concealed-handgun laws for many decades, there was only one case of a concealed handgun used in a shooting after a traffic accident. Moreover, that incident involved self-defense (Lott, 2013, p. 13).

A majority of the American people feel that gun control laws will help reduce crime rates because the waiting period would allow time for a person’s temper to cool down. They also feel that gun control will prevent repeat offenders because when a person tries to purchase a handgun, he will have to fill out a lengthy questionnaire. The questionnaire will include questions about the buyer’s past, for example, if they have a criminal record or a record of any mental illness. If there is a criminal record in that person’s history, he will not be able to make the purchase. Restricting handgun ownership would also reduce crime, because guns are used most often in robberies and murders (Mayer 28). They are very easily concealed under a coat, or even in the waistband of pants.

By concealing the weapon, citizens can go about their day normally without being distracted by a handgun on someone’s person. Many Americans are beginning to grasp the concept that gun control laws are rapidly becoming useless. John C. Moorhouse and Brent Wanner, authors of “Gun Control Law Do Not Reduce Violent Crimes” State that the reason gun control is ineffective, is because it does next to nothing to stop criminals from getting their hands on firearms (Gun Control Laws Do Not Reduce). To reduce gun crime, more needs to be done to stop criminals, instead of focusing efforts on law abiding citizens, they are not the ones to worry about.

Strict gun laws do not lower crime rates in fact they increase crime, there has been numerous tests that back this up for every issue there are people that oppose the idea. There are studies that have proven without debate that states that have the most restricting gun laws have the highest crime rates. Studies show that states that adopt “shall issue laws” reduce murders by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, assault by 7% and robbery by 3%, which translates to 1570 murders, 4177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults and 12,000 robberies (Lott 1). So criminals respond strongly to deterrence threats and the thought of a criminal’s victim potentially being armed deters them. Shall-issue laws are laws that if you take a state certified state and pass a background check you can receive a concealed carry license, this means that you must conceal the weapon, generally a pistol. Benefits of concealed carry do not just benefit those who carry them or use them in self-defense. The very fact that those weapons are concealed keeps criminals uncertain as to whether potential victims will be able to defend themselves with lethal force. The most support for strict gun laws are in large cities where crime rates are the highest and shall-issue laws would help out tremendously, people that are uneducated on the real use of weapons know how useful they can be and they can save lives. Many of the supporters of strict gun laws have no knowledge on firearms and make their call strictly on emotion and not rational

Is the violent crime rate affected by citizens legally carrying concealed weapons? One side argues being legally allowed to conceal carry weapons lowers the violent crime rate. Another side argues being legally allowed to conceal carry weapons increases the violent crime rate. Currently, there are forty three states that are “right-to-carry” states and seven states “may-issue” which makes it very hard to obtain a concealed weapons permit. This paper will compare violent crime rates within the state of Florida before and after the implementation of legally concealed weapons. This paper will evaluate how legally concealed weapons affect the crime rate. Such findings will be gathered from a combination of studies and sources, including: an interview study of police officers (qualitative data on how concealed weapons effect crime rate), crime rate statistics illustrating Florida’s violent crime rates per capita and various experts within the field of concealed weapons and their impact on violent crime rates. The improvement of police methodology will also be evaluated to test the impact of concealed weapons and its effect on the violent crime rate.

Many people over time from civilians to politicians have argued the reasoning, regulations, and practice of concealed carry gun laws. One big reason is women’s safety because their seen as by criminals as an “easier target”. Now with many laws being put into affect, certain genres of people will not be able to carry or even own guns for the potential safety of others. Most civilians feel that they would rather have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. Some issues with concealed carry is that people can have a “Wild West” mentality and that is the fear of most. But all in all, concealed carrying a gun could mean life or death in a very real reality of a violent world full of crime and carelessness.

Multiple political figures and citizens of America believe that the solution to America’s gun issue is to make gun laws more lenient. People believe that if America increases the amount of guns accessible to the average citizen then America’s streets will be safer, and there will be less gun violence. This fact is backed by Most political figures and citizens who want more guns in America, as they want them for one large reason, self defense. To support this, author William J Bennett wrote an article supporting the claim that gun laws should

To being with, carrying concealed guns increase crimes. ‘’A 1995 study of five major cities found that gun-related homicides increased by an average of 4.5 per 100,000 people states that allowed concealed carry. Also, another study conducted over 33 years found that concealed carry states had increase in assaults, robberies, auto , theft, and burglaries.’’(Leroy king 1)

Concealed carry is a constitutional right to citizens of the U.S. for the right to bear arms. People who support of concealed carry law say that criminals are less likely to attack someone they believe to be armed. It is set in stone that Americans have the right to bear arms. This should not be any different nowadays that violence and crime rates are going through the roof (Henigan).

Additionally, in states that have laws permitting concealed weapons for those who qualify, there has been a measurable reduction in violent crimes and murder. There are forty states that allow those who have permits to carry a handgun. Consequently, there are approximately 3.5 million U.S. citizens that are permitted to have a concealed weapon on their person, or in their car (Kates & Mauser, 2007). John Lott and David Mustard conducted a study on the concealed handguns law. They analyzed FBI crime statistics for the entire United States, covering the years from 1977 to 1992. With conservative approximations, states enacting the concealed weapons law had a reduction in rape by 5%, robbery by 3%, aggravated assault by 7%, and murder by 8.5% (Lott, n.d.).

"Allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths." This study, using data from 1977 to 1992, concluded that, had the states which outlaw "concealed carry" allowed their citizens to carry concealed weapons, over 1,500 murders, 4,000 rapes, and 60,000 aggravated assaults could have been