132 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
132 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
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ILA file on CCW
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NRA-ILA RESEARCH & INFORMATION FACT SHEET
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No Fire -- Not Even Smoke
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In VPC's Latest Whine About Right-To-Carry
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Concealed Carry: The Criminal's Companion is an attempt, by a
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tiny anti-gun group that calls itself the Violence Policy Center
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(VPC), to derail the right-to-carry movement currently sweeping
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across the United States. It seeks to discourage passage of
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statewide right-to-carry laws by disparaging Florida's model carry
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law, in effect since 1987.
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The success of right-to-carry laws -- Florida's in particular
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-- is by now well known, to legislators as well as to the general
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public. According to the most recent data from the FBI Uniform
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Crime Reports, those states with right-to-carry laws have
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significantly lower overall violent and firearm-related violent
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crime per capita rates than other states:
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Violent crime rate 22% lower
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Firearm violent crime rate 29% lower
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Homicide rate 31% lower
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Firearm homicide rate 38% lower
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Handgun homicide rate 41% lower
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Robbery rate 36% lower
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Firearm robbery rate 38% lower
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Aggravated assault rate 14% lower
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Firearm aggravated assault rate 19% lower
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Florida's homicide and handgun homicide rates have dropped 22%
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and 29%, since adopting right-to-carry in 1987, even as national
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rates rose 15% and 50%. Anti-gun groups often try to malign
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Florida's right-to-carry law by noting that its total violent crime
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rate has increased since the law took effect, but an examination of
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violent crime data only supports right-to-carry advocates'
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arguments -- since 1987, Florida's violent crime rate has risen less
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(17.7%) than the U.S. as a whole (22.3%), and only 30% of Florida's
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violent crimes involve firearms.
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Florida's law relates only to the legality of carrying
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firearms already lawfully possessed; it has nothing to do with
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facilitating the acquisition or ownership of firearms by anyone.
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Therefore, the VPC's primary assertion -- that Florida's carry law
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"puts guns into the hands of criminals" -- is preposterous on its
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face and only serves to discredit the group and cast suspicion on
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the motives behind its "study."
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"What is the point?" seems the logical response to the VPC's
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claim that "criminals do apply for concealed carry licenses."
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Criminals occasionally apply for licenses and Florida rejects their
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applications, just as banks regularly reject loan applications from
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persons with bad credit ratings. Through Sept. 30, 1995, Florida
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has rejected the carry license applications of 702 persons with
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criminal records. The VPC even underscores this fact, by including
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in its "study" a long list of persons alleged to have criminal
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records who, after their carry license applications were rejected,
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wanted their rejections reconsidered.
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As required by the law, Florida's licensing division quickly
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revokes licenses mistakenly issued to disqualified individuals.
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Florida has revoked 188 licenses mistakenly issued to persons with
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criminal records. Therefore, the VPC's statement, that persons with
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criminal records occasionally receive licenses, is but half the
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story.
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The overwhelming majority of license applicants and those to
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whom licenses have been issued have been law-abiding citizens. From
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the law's inception, through Sept. 30, 1995, of 310,892
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applications received, only 1,256 -- 0.4% -- have been rejected for
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reasons of criminal histories. Further, citizens to whom carry
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licenses have been issued have proven themselves to be more law-
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abiding than the public generally. Of 303,213 licenses issued, only
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52 -- 0.017% -- have been revoked because license holders committed
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firearm-related crimes, including those occurring in situations in
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which a carry license would not have been required to have a gun
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present. John Russi, of Florida's Division of Licensing, says of
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the 52 disqualified licensees, "When you compare that to the number
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of licenses that were issued, that's very small." This year, in a
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official correspondence to the governor, the Commissioner of the
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Florida Department of Law Enforcement, James T. Moore, provided a
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broader assessment of Florida's carry law, saying "From a law
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enforcement perspective, the licensing process has not resulted in
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problems in the community from people arming themselves with
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concealed weapons. The strict provisions of 790.06, Florida
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Statutes, preclude the licensing of convicted felons, etc., thus
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allowing the permitting of law abiding citizens who do not
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routinely commit crimes or otherwise violate the law."
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Obviously, the VPC ignores the big picture in Florida,
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manufacturing superficial claims intended to put the spotlight on
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whatever negative exceptions to the rule it believes it has found.
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Fabrications, pretenses and other misleading claims made by various
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anti-gun groups opposed to the right-to-carry apparently have
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little effect on state legislators around the country. Since 1987,
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legislators in 17 other states have voted to adopt right-to-carry
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laws, and one state adopted right-to-carry through a judicial
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ruling. In the first ten months of 1995 alone, seven states adopted
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right-to-carry statutes, while three others voted to improve
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existing laws.
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1989 -- Oregon, Pennsylvania, W. Virginia and Georgia
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(judicial ruling);
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1990 -- Idaho, Mississippi;
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1991 -- Montana;
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1994 -- Alaska, Arizona, Tennessee and Wyoming;
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1995 -- Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas,
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Nevada, Utah and Virginia
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All told, 28 states, 45% of the U.S. population -- 115 million
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Americans -- now have right-to-carry laws.
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In summary, the VPC's attempt to discredit Florida's law today
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echoes the fear-based campaign anti-gun activists waged in an
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attempt to prevent passage of the law in 1987. At that time, right-
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to-carry opponents claimed Florida would become the "GUNshine
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State," plagued by vigilante justice and "Wild West" shootouts on
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every corner. "[A] pistol-packing citizenry will mean itchier
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trigger fingers....South Florida's climate of smoldering fear would
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flash like napalm when every stranger totes a piece, and every
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mental snap in traffic could lead to the crack of gunfire," one
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carry opponent predicted, while another said that the police would
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have to be armed with machineguns if citizens were allowed to carry
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firearms for protection against criminals. As the evidence proves,
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those predictions were as false in 1987 as the VPC's retrospect is
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today.
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11/6/95
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=+=+=+=+
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This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
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Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
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