The Benefits of Concealed Carry of Firearms Essay

FBI statistics accumulated on a countrywide level show that in states that have strict gun control laws, there are higher crime rates. If gun control laws have any effect, it may be to increase crime! For instance, New Jersey adopted what sponsors described as “the most stringent gun law” in the nation in 1966; two years later the murder rate was up 46 percent and the reported robbery rate had nearly doubled. In 1968, Hawaii imposed a series of increasingly harsh measures, and its murder rate, then a low 2.4 per 100,000 per year, tripled to 7.2 by 1977. In opposition, states with liberal gun carry laws have much lower crime rates. In Florida the homicide rate dropped from 37 percent above the national average to 3 percent below the national average after the state changed its concealed carry law in 1987. In 1987, Florida’s murder rate was 11.4 per 100,000 compared with the national rate of 8.2. By 1992, the national rate had risen to 9.3 per 100,000 while Florida’s had dropped to 9, and in 1993, it continued to drop another .3 to 8.7 per 100,000. Between 1987 and 1992, rape increased nationally by 14.4 percent. But in Florida, it increased only 2.9 percent and in 1993 rape in Florida decreased .2 percent. Florida issued 204,108 concealed carry licenses during the first six and half years

The Second Amendment has given the right to individuals to keep and bear arms since December, 15th 1791. Even though this has been in the Constitution for 223 years, the issue of gun control and the right to concealed carry has been a growing issue in the United States. Whether citizens should be allowed to legally carry a gun has been a growing debate. In this paper, I will talk about the history of concealed carry, the different types of issuances among the states, and how to obtain your concealed carry license in Wisconsin along with providing concrete evidence with different statistics and stating the pros and cons of the issue.

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

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).

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.

Carrying a concealed weapon is the biggest factor of most crimes. The people involved in the crime do not know of the weapon, at first. It is hidden, concealed. If the laws and regulations are revised and “tightened up” this will not be such a great factor. If every concealed carrier has to go through background checks and other items, such as proper training, this will insure public safety and drastically reduce the immature use of firearms. Rules of the current day have worked “good enough” in the past, but in a world where crime is current every which way you turn, there is steps needed to be

Secondly, we should have the right to conceal one at all times for safety reasons. According to “Should Adults Have the Right to Carry a Concealed Handgun?” “States that implemented ‘shall-issue’ concealed carry laws reduced murders by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7%, and robbery by 3%, according to a 2000 analysis of FBI crime data by economist and political commentator John R. Lott Jr., PhD. Lott calculated that 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults, and 12,000 robberies could have been prevented between 1977 and 1992 if concealed carry had been legal in every US state during that time period. In addition, a 2013 peer-reviewed study in Applied Economic Letters, found that between 1980 and 2009, ‘states with more restrictive CCW (carrying concealed weapons) laws had gun-related murder rates that were 10% higher.’Detroit Chief of Police Larry Craig said permitted concealed weapons are ‘a deterrent,’ and ‘Good Americans with CPLs (concealed permit licenses) translates into crime reduction.’ A 2013 survey of 15,000 current and retired police officers found that 91.3% support the concealed carry of guns by civilians.” Crime numbers reduced when states allow citizens to conceal a weapon at all times, while states that made it difficult to conceal a gun saw the crime rates jack up. We should be able to carry concealed weapons to stop crime in its tracks.

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.

In this paper, I will discuss Pennsylvania Concealed Carry laws, benefits of concealed carry and my views on such, states that Pennsylvania has reciprocity with and the troubles this creates, and the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2014. Concealed Carry is the act of carrying a handgun that is hidden, usually under clothing. Concealed Carry is a controversial topic in today’s age, especially with the gun laws that were dominating politics in 2013 and 2014. There is currently a bill in office to make Concealed Carry laws much better for the carrier. I will write more about this later in the paper.

People feel more protected when they carry a concealed handgun than no handgun at all (procon.org).

Ever since the 2nd Amendment was ratified, gun control has been a flaming topic of debate in America. The politics surrounding this debate could affect the lives of millions of Americas who already own firearms. Americans are looking for information regarding what a conceal carry permit is and how to obtain a conceal- carry permit so that they may formulate their own opinions on the issue. Investigating further, citizens are confused with the numerous conceal-carry permit classes, instructional courses, and the background checks of carriers. Who is allowed to apply? Where shall they be allowed to carry? Using data gathered from a multitude of sources, the average citizen might form a new frame of reference concerning this

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 state of Arizona is in the process of banning concealed carry in the state (Lipka).

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.).