Quote of the day—Handgun Control, Inc.

Again, the grades reflect the ability of a CCW law to maintain public safety. Seven states (Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin) have decided the safest way to protect citizens is to not allow carrying concealed weapons at all. The other 43 states have implemented laws that vary in their ability to protect public safety. The seven states which do not permit any carrying of concealed weapons received “A” grades. While a state-licensing system, with all the proper safeguards, could receive an “A” rating, no state permitting system presently meets those requirements. But a few state licensing systems like Iowa, New Jersey and Minnesota, receive relatively high marks because they give local law enforcement officials discretion in issuing a license and require both safety training and an adequate background check.

At the other extreme, Vermont allows anyone to carry without any criminal background check or any type of safety training. Major pro-gun organizations, including the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, point to Vermont as the ideal system that they would like to see replicated in the other 49 states.

Commonsense, and the growing number of intentional and unintentional shootings involving licensees, dictate that more guns on the street put everyone at risk.

Handgun Control, Inc.
December 18, 1997
Concealed Carry, Concealed Risk Year-End Report on U.S. Concealed Weapons Laws
Emphasis in the original.
[Commonsense would dictate that they have evidence to support their assertions. But no matter how often and how long these people attempt to prove by vigorous assertion that “more guns on the street put everyone at risk” they don’t make any progress. We now have more Constitutional (Vermont) carry states, more reciprocity, and more shall issue states than we did in 1997. And the facts are that there is no evidence of increased crime. The Brady Campaign apparently agrees with this data as they say on their own website (September 2008):

The National Research Council carried out its own review and analysis of peer-reviewed literature and concluded that there is “no credible evidence that the passage of right-to-carry laws decreases or increases violent crime.

If there is no credible evidence right to carry laws increase violent crime then it should be “commonsense” there is no justification for restricting the carrying of self-defense tools in public. Right?

Perhaps the most telling of the facts is that the Brady Campaign (forming Handgun Control, Inc.) no longer issues reports on concealed weapons laws. I guess they realize that battle has been lost and it was just commonsense to drop the silly grading since it was unrelated to public safety.

Perhaps someone should tell, Joan, Peterson, Brady Campaign board member, the flesh has putrefied on that horse.—Joe]

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