Concealed And Open Carry

From 1960 to 1992, the violent crime rate in the U.S. increased by a stunning 470% as shown in the graph below. As discussed in "Gun Violence", the increase in violent crime was caused mainly by young males in an increasingly degenerative culture.

Source of data.

But then something changed. From 1992 to 2005 the violent crime rate decreased by 180% of the 1960 rate.  A contributory cause of this decrease was that, beginning in 1986, the number of States that passed "shall issue" concealed carry laws increased from 8 to 37.  This increase in the number of "shall issue" States was driven by the increase in violent crime perpertrated upon peaceful citizens.

Source of data.

There are now 48 States that permit legal concealed carry to varying degrees.  Of these there are 37 "shall issue" States that issue concealed carry licenses based upon meeting a set of requirements that do not include showing abnormal risk or need.  The States with "shall issue" laws do not have arbitrary, capricious, and politically motivated sheriffs and chiefs of police preventing peaceful citizens from defending themselves. There are 9 "may issue" States that require police or sheriff’s approval. Of these there are 6 States that require abnormal risk or need to issue a concealed carry license, unless you happen to be rich and famous or politically connected.   "May issue" States issue far fewer licenses than "shall issue" States. Two States, Alaska and Vermont, allow all of their citizens to carry concealed handguns without a license or any restrictions. Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two remaining States that prohibit all of their citizens from carrying a concealed handgun and defending themselves against violent perpetrators. 

It is inevitable that we will have a Federal policy that provides uniform requirements for concealed carry, similar to Ohio’s, and allows the violent crime deterrence of concealed carry nationwide.

Concealed carry provides a deterrence to some potentially violent incidents and is helping to reduce the violent crime rate.  The writer does not need statistics to prove this fact because he has personal experience.  Concealed carry provides a deterrence to violent people preying on peaceful people.  It is not intended to stop violent people from preying on other violent people. 

There are about 700,000 peace officers and about 5,000,000 civilians (shown by State below) with concealed carry licenses in the United States.  The majority of these citizens feel a strong sense of duty to provide a deterrence to violent crime and protect peaceful people. They comprise about 2.0% of the U.S. population or about 1 in 40 adults.

Most of the handguns carried are small revolvers and semi-automatic pistols that are purely defensive and can be easily concealed in a pocket holster. Light weight hollow point bullets are often used along with a laser that projects a red dot at the point of impact.  Both the hollow point bullets and the laser are used to maximize the possibility of only injuring the assailant.

Although open carry is legal in Ohio and in a number of other States, concealed carry is preferred because: 1. Open carry allows the criminal to know who to shoot first in order to get another gun. 2. Open carry creates an unnecessary problem for peace officers when open carry is reported by fellow citizens. Many people become naturally distressed at the sight of a gun not worn by a peace officer.