July 7, 2013
Firearms live among us - everyday and everywhere.
This is probably not news to gun-rights supporters. According to this article, "A growing number of Americans are getting permission to carry firearms in public—and under their clothes—a development that has sparked concern among some law-enforcement authorities.
Applications for "concealed-carry" permits are soaring in many states, some of which recently eased permit requirements."
Here are some of the figures and growth rates the author provided.
"Since July 1 of last year, Florida has granted more than 173,000 new concealed-carry permits, up 17% from the year before and twice as many as five years ago, for a total of about 1.09 million permits in the state.
Ohio, meanwhile, is on pace to nearly double last year's total of 65,000 new permits, which would be nearly three times as many as in 2007. And Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming and Nebraska all have nearly matched or surpassed last year's totals with half of 2013 still to go.
A dozen states surveyed for this article, including Texas, Utah and Wisconsin, issued 537,000 permits last year, an 18% increase compared with a year prior and more than double the number issued in 2007. Early figures for 2013 show many states are on pace for their biggest year ever.
About eight million Americans had concealed-carry permits as of last year, the Government Accountability Office said in what it called a conservative estimate."
I have debated with people who think they'll be safer if people are not allowed to carry guns. They don't want them in their neighborhoods or in the cars in traffic with them or on the public transportation they ride. Some of these people are completely naive or choose to remain ignorant of that face that those firearms are already in their communities and at their places of work. The GAO "conversative" estimate is that there are 8 MILLION lawful concealed carry license holders. That's their "conservative" number and it doesn't acknowledge those carrying without permits - whether for criminal or good purposes.
I don't know how the 2010 census data breaks down by age, particularly those aged 21 or older, but those 8 million license holders represent 2.5% of the total US population and the number is growing.
"States across the U.S. have loosened restrictions amid a spate of mass shootings in public spaces, making it easier to get concealed-carry permits and allowing concealed weapons in more places, including schools, churches and bars."
How's this for a statement? "Craig Steckler, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said he could remember only "one instance in which someone effectively defended himself" with a firearm during his 21 years as police chief in Fremont, Calif." Casually, I'd say that just about makes Steckler criminally negligent - either in a complete lack of awareness bordering on insanity or blatantly lying to the public with his statement. I personally know of 2-3 just among my friends and I haven't asked any of them. Those are the ones that were volunteered to me. Besides that there have been dozens of confirmed defenses with firearms in the news this year which are generally getting more publicity in non-mainstream media this year because of the heightened awareness due to the post-Newtown debate and controversy.
Check out this article for more information about changes across the nation affecting lawful concealed carrying of firearms.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323689204578573763575086702.html
Not everyone is on board, however. As the previous article pointed out, even though at least 20 states have recently loosed concealed carry laws, there are some that have made them more restrictive including Connecticut, Colorado, California, Delaware and Maryland. Illinois is the only state that currently does not allow any lawful concealed carry but they've been orderd by a federal circuit court to permit it this year and their allowable time frame is rapidly diminishing.
Here's an article about Connecticut's Governor Dannel Malloy trying to make it more difficult for citizens of that state. This is an interesting case because, again, it's not a "direct assault" on the rights of citizens through the law. This is an "indirect attack" by trying to oust a pro-2nd Amendment member of the state's "Board of Firearms Permit Examiners" - getting rid of the people in authority who oppose gun control thereby affecting future concealed carry license approval rates. "Many gun rights advocates have seen the governor’s move as that to upset the balance of the board in favor of anti-gun members." Duh!
The person in Governor Malloy's 'sites' is M. Peter Kuck who "has a consistent record of voting to overturn local police chiefs and granting pistol permits." And "Apparently the governor is not only targeting Malloy, but other Second Amendment supporters on the board as well."
You have to love this comment by the gun control advocating governor's spokesperson. "The governor has made no secret of his efforts to improve public safety. Clearly, his work on the gun violence prevention bill was a huge step forward. But making sure the spirit of that law is reflected in the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners must be a part of that effort as well." Kind of says it all, doesn't it? The governor wants the board to be anti-gun, anti-2nd Amendment. Doing so will be another "step forward" in 'reducing violence'. Will they ever stop with their lying, misleading rhetoric? No, unfortunately they won't.
http://dcclothesline.com/2013/07/07/ct-governor-malloy-tries-to-boo-member/
And let's not forget the recent overstepping of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, as outlined in these articles and the blog link, below.
http://www.thegunmag.com/il-gov-quinn-plays-emperor-with-citizens-civil-rights-says-ccrkba/
http://www.examiner.com/article/ill-governor-quinn-sets-stage-for-ccw-confrontation
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Related blogs:
http://us2ndamendment.blogspot.com/2013/07/concealed-carry-licenses-growing.html
Firearms Blog Collections
Illinois Lawful Carry of Firearms Gets Closer
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