Is Concealed Carry Bad?

Trevor Burrus from Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies showed how the use of guns for good are far greater than uses for the bad. “In the past 20 years, the cases of permit holders using their guns improperly are quite rare.”(Burrus 3). This is a problem for gun control because the valid arguable point for it is becoming increasingly smaller. This is also a problem for the media because they report vague negative gun usage rather than positive because a large majority of the media's reporters are liberal gun control advocates. Americans who concealed carry firearms are better off in a defense position rather than an unarmed civilian. “studies have found that Americans use guns defensively between 830,000 and 2.45 million times per year.” (Burrus 2). This is a problem because a very small percentage of gun related incidents make it to the news, therefore people think that there aren't as many firearm crimes than there is, and could potentially be unarmed in an emergency situation. Also this means that since there are this many people using guns defensively, there are people who die innocently because they are unarmed. From this, the government had make the laws that prevent people from being able to defend themselves in desperate defense

Gun ownership in the United States is one of the most controversial issues today. The US ranks #1 in gun ownership based on number of guns per capita with 112.6 guns per 100 residents (2014). Lately, there is the so-called American gun crisis due to a series of mass shootings that are becoming more frequent and deadlier. Now, and more than ever, gun ownership is on the hot seat after the shooting in San Bernardino, California. And with this, we tackle the debate over concealed carry – its pros and cons.

In the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights the founding fathers of America gave us the right to bear arms for self-defense. Although everyone in America has the right to own a firearm, you must have a concealed carry permit in order to bring a hidden handgun into a public area. Through people carrying concealed handguns we can reduce violent crimes.

Concealed carry has been in news for a while now and is a hot topic. Concealed carry means more guns around us. Those who not paying attention might assume that open concealed carry is something new, something rare, perhaps reckless at best and dangerous at worst, but that is far from the truth. The Daily Caller newspaper states that, “concealed carry is currently legal in 44 states, and in 30 states you don’t need a license to openly carry a holstered pistol.” The norm states that one had to be licensed to hide the licensed gun. Over the years various restrictive gun laws have been created state by state, largely in an effort to suppress the ability of minorities and criminals to carry guns. The ability to lawfully carry a hidden gun became

In the past six months, there have been a total of 19,635 gun incidents. Out of those 19,635 incidents, 107 were mass shootings, 829 were home invasions, and 604 were for defensive use, according to Gunviolencearchive.org. It is unbelievable to see the number of gun related incidents that have happened in just the past six months. What is even more unbelievable to imagine is that so many of those incidents could have been avoided if people were allowed to carry concealed guns in certain places. Concealed carry, or concealed weapons, is the practice of carrying weapons, such as a handgun, in public in a concealed manner. All fifty states in the United States allow concealed carry in public places to some degree. But, some places, for example, schools, restaurants, and stores, prohibit concealed weapons. The controversy about whether concealed weapons should be prohibited in certain locations has been debated for years, and more often in the past decade. On one side of the debate, supporters of the “gun-free zones” claim that prohibiting concealed weapons in certain locations will reduce crime and ensure that the location is free of gun violence, allowing concealed weapons can result to more guns landing in the hands of criminals, and some even insist that public safety should be left to professional, qualified police officers, not ignorant citizens with little to no expert training. However, it is absolutely necessary to know that prohibiting weapons in certain locations

In a nation that prides itself on protecting the rights of all citizens, one right is under a blistering attack. According to the second amendment the “right to bear arms shall not be infringed” but in every corner of America that right is getting closer and closer to disappearing. In the news, Americans only hear of the guns that kill, they don’t hear of the guns that save. The fact of the matter is, the right to carry concealed weapons has saved lives.

Now a citizen carrying a concealed weapon can be very beneficial to society and maybe even help save lives. In an article by ProCon.org, it is stated that “...this law helped to stop a massacre in Dec. 2007 when a volunteer security guard for the church who was carrying a concealed handgun shot an attacker who had opened fire in the church.” ProCon claims that because this man had his concealed weapons permit, he himself was able to stop what could have been an awful and tragic mess. And that is the entire point of having a concealed weapons permit, so that any citizen can protect themselves from certain situations.

There are many benefits to having a concealed carry license. The main reasons are work, self-defense, hunting, and target shooting. For instance in February, a pharmacy in West Virginia was held up at gunpoint. The pharmacist acted to save the lives of his staff and customers by firing two shots into the suspect, with his own concealed carry handgun. No one ended up being robbed that day and the suspect later died in the hospital. (Owens, 2015). In another incident, a combat vet saved his aunt and her boyfriend from an estranged husband that came into the house and began shooting. The estranged husband’s life was ended and three lives were saved. (Chilson, 2014). In another incident a man in Alabama was walking home with his dogs and was attacked by a bear. He pulled his revolver and killed the bear before he or his dogs sustained injuries. (Learn About Guns, 2009). I personally believe that an armed society is a polite society. I feel that armed citizens do more than just protect citizens from criminals or animals. Citizens owning and bearing arms also protects them from a tyrannical

Through citizens standing on guard and being vigilantes, concealed carriers have saved many lives. In South Carolina, an onlooker with a concealed carry permit struck down a mass shooter outside of a nightclub. In Minnesota, another concealed carrier took down a hostile man with a knife in a mall. In Texas, two men shot and killed a bystander, and proceeded to begin robbing a jewelry store. An upstanding citizen with a concealed carry permit stopped the two in their tracks and stopped them from causing further harm. Safety and the Second Amendment can co-exist, if not sustain each other. Concealed carriers are safe citizens who can help stop crimes. Concealed carry permit holders are some of the most law-abiding citizens in America. A 6 year study in Florida and Texas found that of 875,000 Floridian permit holders, the revocation rate for firearm related offenses was 0.00007%. In Texas, the rate was 0.021% for 584,850 holders. Would this information make you believe that gun owners with concealed carry permits are to be feared and are the ones shooting innocents instead of criminals? The best thing to do when it comes to making a safer world would not be to disarm gun-owners, but giving legal gun carriers the right to defend themselves and others across state lines, no matter what state they are in. People would be able to better defend themselves in situations such as the ones above, and be able to prevent more of these situations from happening, as well as protecting themselves, their property, and

According to a Violence Policy Center analysis of news reports, concealed carry permit holders have killed at least 11 law enforcement officers and 319 private citizens since May 2007, 19 of these were mass shootings, and 27 murder-suicides. I personally believe that individuals in America without a criminal record should not be able to carry a concealed weapon in public settings. Carrying a concealed weapon in public settings is automatically imposing a threat on those around you. It increases the chances of an altercation escalating and turning lethal and is portrayed as “self-defense”. Giving individuals the right to carry a concealed weapon in public settings makes the ones without a weapon feel less safe, or intimidated at all

Many Americans tend to be on opposing sides when dealing with such a controversial issue such as gun control. A more specific category of such a broad topic as gun control is the practice that some Americans participate in, called concealed carry. Concealed carry is the practice of carrying a weapon, typically a handgun, on one’s body that is hidden from the public. This political issue hits many different institutions within America, such as many special interest groups, the constitution and Judicial branch of the government, and also the principle of Federalism.

There is a small percentage of the population that has a concealed weapons permit. In that small percentage everyone is a law abiding citizen, except for a few here and there. They are a set of citizens hard to tell apart in a crowd because of their normality. This meaning that they do not plan on doing harm with their weapon. They respect the fact that having a concealed weapon is serious business. They are willing to go through the tests and classes that one must go through to obtain their permit. They know all the laws, which they must fallow, with that one could safely say that a concealed weapon would be handled safely by this set of people.

The District of Columbia is the central hub of the United States government. It is a place where the nations top elected officials work daily, but it is also a proving ground for laws that could be deemed unconstitutional, such as the restriction of concealed carry permits to those residents, who “demonstrate a “good reason to fear injury.” There was a ban on all guns within the District of Columbia until 2008, when the Supreme Court filed its opinion in the case of District of Columbia versus Heller. The battle over gun rights is one that has only been inflamed in recent years as more media attention is devoted to firearm related incidents. The concealed carry laws within the District of Columbia are some of the strictest in the United States having only approved eighty-eight people for permits while declining the applications of over three-hundred. On September 20th, oral arguments will be made in front of a panel comprised of three judges. In court filings the gun rights activists are citing the fact that the District’s requirement to show extraordinary threat is unconstitutional.

Not everyone’s hands are meant to hold a gun. Since the late 1970’s into the early 2000’s Permitted concealed handguns have been the reason for a 2% increase in murder rate, and at least a 9% increase rate in rape, aggravated assault, robbery, auto theft, burglary, and larceny. Imagine how much crime rate will rise with the passing of the permitless gun bill, not only in West Virginia but in America.

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).