Reply #38: I can understand your reservations about CCW ...

[spin]

as you live in a state where concealed carry is not allowed except in exceptional cases.

Initially I felt there would be a lot of problems when in 1987 "shall issue" concealed carry was passed in Florida. I was wrong.

In 1987, when Florida enacted such legislation, critics warned that the "Sunshine State" would become the "Gunshine State." Contrary to their predictions, homicide rates dropped faster than the national average. Further, through 1997, only one permit holder out of the over 350,000 permits issued, was convicted of homicide. (Source: Kleck, Gary Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control, p 370. Walter de Gruyter, Inc., New York, 1997.) If the rest of the country behaved as Florida's permit holders did, the U.S. would have the lowest homicide rate in the world.

David Kopel, Research Director at the Independence Institute comments on Florida's concealed carry experience:

"What we can say with some confidence is that allowing more people to carry guns does not cause an increase in crime. In Florida, where 315,000 permits have been issued, there are only five known instances of violent gun crime by a person with a permit. This makes a permit-holding Floridian the cream of the crop of law-abiding citizens, 840 times less likely to commit a violent firearm crime than a randomly selected Floridian without a permit." ("More Permits Mean Less Crime..." Los Angeles Times, Feb. 19, 1996, Monday, p. B-5) emphasis added
http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_gcdgcon.html

But some may question the source of these statistics and they are somewhat dated.

Florida publishes a monthly summary report on concealed carry. This report covers a time frame approaching 23 years from October 1, 1987 to May 31, 2010. During this period of time 1,787,628 concealed weapon permits have been issued and currently 729,103 are valid. Only 167 licenses have been revoked for a crime in which a firearm was utilized after the license was issued.

The report can be reviewed at http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html

Having enjoyed the shooting sports for many years, I've known my share of people with carry permits. Many of my co-workers had permits. Most people with a carry license only carry on an occasional basis but regular shooters who visit a range several times a month are more likely to carry frequently.

One of the most important things to realize about people who do have a license is that they have had a background check and a clean record. It's rare for a person who has never exhibited violent tendencies to suddenly become violent or aggressive, which is why so few people with carry licenses misuse their firearms. The concealed weapons permit classes emphasize the problems you can get into if you fail to follow the law.

Also many people feel that a permit is valuable item and don't want to show any behavior that might endanger their license. I found that once I obtained my permit, I became more polite and far less aggressive. For example, I no longer gave some fool that cut me off in traffic the finger. Perhaps the old statement that "an armed society is a polite society" has more truth than most people recognize.

I also have known many police officers over the years and have questioned them on their viewpoint of allowing licensed citizens to carry firearms. All have expressed the view that those who legally carry concealed are not a problem and none have ever arrested a permit holder for misusing his weapon.

Many people advocate open carry. Florida does not allow open carry so I am unfamiliar with it and somewhat distrustful. I'm sure that if Florida allowed people to carry openly, I would become accustomed to seeing people openly packing and would lose my concern. I am also sure that if you lived in Florida, you would have far less concern about people carrying concealed.