The Pros And Cons Of A Concealed Carry Of Handguns

On the evening of Friday, 13th November 2015, a massacre, including of public mass shootings and suicide bombings occurred in the capital of France, Paris. The attackers killed 130 people and wounded 368 serious injuries. During the attacks in Paris, no one victim was armed. They didn’t have any chance of defense for themselves. Today, I am going to tell you about the right to carry a concealed gun and why we need it. I have researched both sides of the right to carry a concealed gun, and the need to carry a concealed gun is the strongest argument. According to a 2013 study by Mark Gius, Professor of Economics at Quinnipiac University found that states without the carrying of concealed weapons laws had higher gun-related murders. Furthermore,

Although guns can be used to harm others, they can also be used to protect people as well. God forbid anyone is ever in a situation where their life is threatened, but it does happen, and for those who carry a concealed weapon for protection, they can save their own life and possibly others who are stuck in the same situation. For example, in April of 2015, an Uber driver with a license to carry a weapon saved lives in Chicago when he noticed a man who opened fire into a Chicago crowd. The Uber driver stepped out of his car and opened fire on the shooter, stopping him in his tracks (Ziezulewics). Guns are widely used for protection, and placing bans and restrictions on the right to carry a concealed weapon could increase the amount of deaths

...research study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, where over 2,000 felons were interviewed, 34% said they had been scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim and 40% said that they had been deterred because they feared that victim was armed.” (Stearns 20) Deterrence of crime is one of the major factors in reducing it or even eliminating it, but with the current programs and laws in place in some area it is inviting the crime to occur giving the criminal element the green light to proceed. For the critics that state that giving the right for normal citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon refuse to accept the research that has been conducted after the laws have been changed and the research numbers are clear, that the crime rate drops when the criminal element lives in fear that their prey are going to fight back and they might not

The second article, " Concealed Carry and its Effect on Crime" tries to persuade the reader that the right to carry concealed weapons will deter criminals. Most of the information in this article is taken from a July 26, 1996-article called "Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns," written by John R.

As of 2013, all 50 states allow concealed carry of handguns (Concealed Carry Reciprocity Maps), although a few states don’t require a permit and the standards for licensing vary greatly from state to state. In the U.S. most states are “Shall Issue” states. This means they will grant anybody a permit that meets certain guidelines such as being 21 or older and not having any felony convictions, a history of mental illness or domestic abuse. A handful of other states are “May Issue” states. In these other states, such as Maryland, a permit will only be issued if you can prove you need it. This can be a large obstacle and these states will usually only issue permits to people in the public eye, wealthy individuals that are well-connected or business owners frequently transporting large sums of cash (Concealed Carry Reciprocity Maps). Although the requirements and standards are different wherever you may live, one thing holds true- concealed carry permit holders are rapidly growing. The market for handgun training, concealed carry courses and smaller, more concealable handguns have opened up. When concealed carry was first gaining popularity there were two very different schools of thought. Some thought that violent crime would decrease, as criminals would fear the everyday person that just may happen to be armed. Others thought that having people carrying around concealed handguns in public would lead to an increase in violent crime with people losing their temper and shooting each other. When analyzing the data and crime trends, it is clear that with this influx of concealed carry permit holders there has not been a corresponding increase in violent crime.

Why is carrying a concealed weapon good? Many individuals say if they had a gun they could stop the criminal from hurting or killing many people. Ted Nugent was on Piers Morgan on CNN, and he stated that in areas with more people having guns there is less crime then places were gun laws are more strict and leave people unarmed and unprotected (Youtube). Having a responsible, law-abiding citizen with a gun could potentially save lives of unarmed citizens from a dangerous assailant. After the tragedies at Sandy Hook, Columbine, and other school shootings ideas have been thrown around about arming teachers for the protection of themselves and of the students (Huffington Post.) Since there has been why a carry permit is good, next will by why it can be bad.

Many crimes could have been avoided if you could carry a concealed weapon in every state. "If the states that do not have right - to - carry concealed guns had adopted the laws in 1992, approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avoided yearly" (Kopel 129).

Concealed pistols have always been an issue that the public wants to know more and more about. Most people who were born and raised in the outdoors agree fully on the legality of a concealed weapon, whereas people who were born in big cities where they did not hunt, shoot guns, or have a firearm in their house do not. This is a very large and argued about cultural issue. I personally am all for concealed carry of a firearm. There are many reasons for this such as personal defense, sense of safety, and the protection of others around me. There are some questions that are raised about the carrying of a concealed weapon such as “what states can I travel in with my firearm?”, “what is the process of applying for a concealed carry permit?”, and “can I enter a weapon free zone to stop a shooter?”. Concealed carry has proven able to reduce crime and lower the casualty rate of a shooter who enters a public area with the intent to kill as many people as possible. Some people argue that concealed weapons are just carried by people who are looking for trouble and that you can obtain a pistol without a background check. This will also be explored and explained thoroughly.

Owning a concealed weapon can be the difference between life or death Many people fear the idea of other people carrying a gun legally in public places. Imagine if you were attending Virginia Tech the day that Seung-Hui Cho savagely massacred all those innocent souls, wouldn't you wish that you or someone close by had a concealed weapon? If some person had a legal concealed weapon on them they could have put an end to the biggest school shooting in the United States. Take a minute to think about this.

What is protection? Should a person have to depend on another for their well-being, or should they have the ability to defend their own person? Concealed carry is a controversial issue, more so when it is allowed on college campuses. There are two sides to every stone and some people may only see the side facing up. When it comes to weapons, there is always a big ordeal about what will happen when a law is or is not put into play. If concealed carry is allowed on campuses terrorist may abuse this privilege as a way to perform mass shootings? What if others were also carrying a weapon and stopped the shooter? Would we see an increase in violence or suicides? These are a few of the many pros and cons of concealed carry on college campuses. Although