Reply #36: Since you are from Australia ...

[spin]

you may hear a lot of propaganda about how terrible it is to allow honest citizens to carry firearms. That's understandable. Your country and its government has a long history of distrusting the common citizen as do many other nations in our world.

No Bill of Rights

Australia is one of literally a handful of states that does not have a legal instrument (either a constitutional or statutory bill of rights) asserting the range and scope of its citizens' freedoms, including freedom of speech. Other common law systems, including the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, have a Bill or Rights included in their legal framework in some form. Some of these provisions restrict themselves to freedom of speech, expression or communications; others, such as the US First Amendment, specifically provide for freedom of the press.
http://www.safecom.org.au/press-freedom.htm

The United States has a different approach. We have a Bill of Rights and the first two amendments are:

First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Obviously many nations believe that the rights of the government are far more important that the rights of the citizen. We differ. Americans are distrustful of their government often with good reason.

But let's look at some facts on how dangerous concealed carry really is.

Every month the state of Florida publishes a report on concealed carry that can be viewed at:

http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html

This report covers a time span of 22 years from October 1, 1987 to May 31, 2010. In that period of time 1,787,628 concealed weapons permits were issued and 729,103 are currently valid. Only 167 license have been revoked for a crime committed where a firearm was utilized.

Obviously those who have concealed carry permits in the United States are not as dangerous as you fantasize.