Why Concealed Weapons Should be Allowed Essay

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.

As of 2013 concealed gun carry is legal in all 50 states. Illinois was the last state to enact concealed gun carry. In some states people are required to have a permit, and in other states people are allowed “unrestricted carry” and do not need a permit to carry a concealed gun.

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 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.

There are many types of gun laws in America, one of the most important is the right to conceal carry. The law states that the, “…bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms.”(public law). The reason this law is so important is it gives the citizen the right to defend his or her self and family from attackers in public. Many people think that the police will arrive and stop a lone gunman but the truth is that, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,’’( LaPierre) said Wayne LaPierre, a top executive at the NRA. Although some people say guns laws help America recent studies find that gun laws actually do nothing to help stop the flow of buying, selling, and carrying guns.

Citizens have the right to carry weapons without those around them knowing they do. That right, clearly stated in the 2nd amendment goes as follows; “The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” To infringe is to “wrongly

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.

Is concealed carry bad? Is concealed carry dangerous? What about….. Let me stop you there. Concealed carry has such a bad reputation just because it is a handgun concealed from public view. That is what makes it so great, the fact that people cannot see it. It can make people question whether they want to mess with someone or a certain business. Concealed carry is also not handed out to everyone that applies. There are multiple stages of trying to acquire the license to allow this. One stage is a background check. The government checks to see if you have a history of mental illnesses, any arrests or runnings into the law, and more. It is also our right. There have been countless court cases on whether concealed carry is in the same place

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

Opponents believe “armed by standers can save others, protect themselves from harm and have the right to the second amendment” (Skorton and Altschuler 629). Students for Concealed Carry argue that firearms are in a person’s daily life, “Are students afraid to sit in three-hundred-seat movie theaters knowing that statistically speaking, as many of their fellow moviegoers may be

One pro to carrying a concealed carry would be that if someone was to come onto a school campus and start to shoot, the use of a concealed carry could make a difference between five and all the lives of the children in the school. Another pro to having a concealed carry would be that people feel safer around you. Let's say if you were in a neighborhood that you were normally scared of but you were with a person that had a concealed carry, would you be more scared to walk through that neighborhood or would you feel more protected and not be as scared? Also, neighborhoods that have people that live in them, which concealed carry permits are more likely to have a low crime rate because the criminals are scared to stir up any trouble in those

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

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.

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).