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utah-firearms-digest      Monday, March 30 1998      Volume 02 : Number 041




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:24:13 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Supreme Court to decide Foster notes case

Well, the last one has already expired, but I found this lurking
in the stack.  One more nail in the coffin....

Will Thompson wrote:
>
> http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/politics/033098/politicst_23515_body.html
>
>
> Supreme Court to decide Foster notes case
>
> Copyright ⌐ 1998 Nando.net
> Copyright ⌐ 1998 The Associated Press

> WASHINGTON (March 30, 1998 11:43 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- The
> Supreme Court Monday delayed efforts
...
> In other action Monday, the court:
...
>
> * Rejected the appeal of a U.S. soldier facing a bad-conduct discharge
> for refusing to wear a United Nations shoulder patch and U.N. blue
> beret for a peace-keeping mission.
...
> By LAURIE ASSEO, The Associated Press
>
>

- -

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Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:52:57 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Survey Query]

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From: "C. D. Tavares" <[e-mail]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Survey Query
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas

> Does anyone have a statistical comparison between the annual number of
> criminals killed by LEOs vs. criminals killed by citizens in the US or by
> state?

The classic study was done by Don Kates at the St. Louis School of
Law.  It was reported on in the 1/10/85 Wall Street Journal (Carol
Ruth Silver & Don B. Kates, Jr., "Gun Control and the Subway Class").
Some of the findings:

  o Police were successful in shooting or driving off criminals 68%
    of the time; citizens succeeded 83% of the time.

  o 11% of individuals involved in police shootings were later found
    to be innocents misidentified as criminals; In civilian shootings,
    the figure was 2%.

  o Private citizens in urban areas encounter and kill up to three
    times as many criminals as do law enforcement authorities.
- --

[e-mail]      --If you presume that I speak for my company,
users.aol.com/Tavares/    write now for my special Investors' Packet!



- -

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:50:19 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Fear Mongering on CCW permits

Charles Hardy wrote:
>
> >From today's tribune.  A letter with hard facts refuting the claim
> that Texas CCW permit holders are twice as likely to be arrested
> as a non CCW holder really needs to be written.  If anyone has
> good sources but doesn't want to write a letter for some reason,
> pass them along and I'll write one.
>

>      This is especially alarming because concealed-weapons permit
>  holders in Texas have been shown to have arrest rates as high as
>  twice that of the general population, according to health-research
>  specialist Sue Glick of the anti-gun Violence Policy Center in
>  Washington.
>
>
I have another story quoting the VPC's "study" with other quotes by
Sue Glick.  I will forward that to the list, along with a possible
couple of other things that might be helpful.  Although I don't
like the idea of using stats to justify rights, Lott seems to have
done quite a bit of good work again.  One of the next few forwards
should have a link to something of his.  They still wont' publish
anything from me, and you seem to be able to get stuff in, so go
for it!


Will

- -

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Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:51:23 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Fwd: Gun permit crime]

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From: "Glenn Reynolds" <[e-mail]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[e-mail]>
Subject: Gun permit crime
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas

Concealed handguns and the
crime rate


Copyright =A9 1998 Nando.net
Copyright =A9 1998 Scripps Howard

    [Forwarded with permission]

(February 10, 1998 01:47 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net)
- -- The wild old West might have been a tamer place
than the Texas of today. For one thing, there's the
number of Texans walking the streets now with legally
licensed concealed firearms. At last count it's
151,433.

So one in every 121 modern Texans is secretly
packing iron.

This is according to the Violence Policy Center, a
non-profit citizen watchdog group in Washington,
which has been keeping count of the number of
Texans licensed by the state to carry concealed
guns.

Of course, lots and lots of Texans in the olden days
kept guns up their sleeves and under their frock
coats -- and nobody bothered with permits or
keeping count. Another difference, though: Those
were two-shot derringers and single-action Colts,
and these days hidden pistols are more likely to be
semi-automatic Glock-9s.

The center also has been keeping tally, based on
data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, of
what Texans have been doing with the pistols in their
pockets.

More than 940 individuals with concealed handgun
licenses have been arrested in the past two years
since Texas' "shall-issue" law took effect.

Their offenses: 263 felony arrests, including six
charges of murder or attempted murder involving at
least four deaths; two charges of kidnapping; 18
charges of sexual assault; 66 charges of assault; 48
cases of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon;
and 42 other weapon-related charges, plus 683
misdemeanor arrests, including 215 instances of
driving while intoxicated.

"The National Rifle Association will be quick to argue
that the 940 arrested are less than 1 percent of those
with concealed weapons permits," says Josh
Sugarmann of the Violence Policy Center.

His associate, Susan Glick, who did the study,
contends the more accurate way of gauging the
violence is by comparing arrest rates of those with
concealed carry permits and those without.

"We find the weapon-related offense rate among
concealed handgun license-holders is more than
twice as high as general population of Texans aged
21 and older," says Glick.

The center did a study last year on Florida, which has
been freely giving permits for 12 years, and found
200,241 Floridians had received licenses to carry
concealed firearms.

That was one in every 69 Floridians with a hidden
gun as of July 1995.

At the time of the study, 469 individuals had
committed crimes ranging from murder to
kidnapping, either before or after getting the Florida
permits. The study also found that hundreds of
criminals had applied for Florida licenses and many
had received them.

Currently, 31 states issue some form of permits for
concealed weapons: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,
Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi,
Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
and Wyoming.

Exactly how many people have gotten the permits
nationwide is unknown. The center says each state
has various ways of keeping count, and many have
confidentiality laws that veil the records. No count is
being kept by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms because the permits fall under state law
and there is no federal issue at stake.

Yet by the most conservative reckoning, at least a
million Americans today are going about publicly with
handguns concealed in their clothes.

And with modern weaponry, every one is almost sure
to be packing more firepower than either Billy the Kid
or Sheriff Pat Garrett could imagine.

"It's a scary number of them," says Glick, "whatever it
is."


Glenn Harlan Reynolds
Professor of Law
University of Tennessee
37996-1810

"The ability to think rationally is pretty rare, even in prestigious
universities.  We're in the TV age now and people think by linking
images in their brains." -- Neal Stephenson


- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Eugene Volokh, UCLA Law School, [phone]  fax -7010
    Subscribe to CENTER-RIGHT, a free weeklyish mailing service for
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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:53:25 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Fwd: Shortish op-ed on concealed carry]

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To: Multiple recipients of list <[e-mail]>
Subject: Shortish op-ed on concealed carry
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas

    Reposted with permission.  I suspect those on this list already
know most of the facts chronicled here, but I thought it might
still be useful for those who like to forward these sorts of things.



- ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

Date sent:      Sun, 01 Mar 1998 20:56:47 -0500
To:             [e-mail], [e-mail]
From:           Center Right <[e-mail]>
Subject:        CENTER-RIGHT  Issue 1, March 2, 1998


           CENTER-RIGHT, a free weeklyish e-newsletter
        of centrist, conservative, and libertarian ideas
                     Issue 1, March 2, 1998
                      Over 1100 subscribers

                PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS
            to anyone you think might be interested.
   Subscription and unsubscription instructions at the bottom.

=================================================================



  No Smoking Guns: Answering Objections to Right-to-Carry Laws
                          [1100 words]

National Center for Policy Analysis, Brief Analysis No. 246 (by
Morgan Reynolds & H. Sterling Burnett):


     Since 1986 the number of states in which it is legal to carry
concealed weapons has grown from nine to 31, representing 49
percent of the country's population.  Should we feel safer?

     Opponents of right-to-carry laws predicted a sharp decline in
public safety because minor incidents would escalate into killings
and more children would be victimized by more guns in irresponsible
hands.  Further, critics claimed that criminals would be undeterred
by any increase in armed citizens.  Indeed, they claimed that
right-to-carry laws would increase crime rather than deter it.
Experience has proven them wrong.

     What objections do the critics offer?


     Objection #1: Citizens are safe enough without handguns.

     Criminals commit 10 million violent and 30 million property
crimes a year.  Hospital emergency rooms treat an estimated 1.4
million people a year for injuries inflicted in violent attacks,
according to a recent Department of Justice study.

     Since the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have held that
the police are not obligated to protect individuals from crime,
citizens are ultimately responsible for their own defense.
Carrying a handgun allows millions to effectively provide for their
own protection.


     Objection #2: Concealed weapons do not deter crime.

     In choosing their crimes, criminals weigh the prospective
costs against the benefits.  If criminals suspect that the costs
will be too high, they are less likely to commit a crime.  The
possibility of a concealed weapon tilts the odds against the
criminal and in favor of the victim.  A survey of 1,847 felons in
10 states found them more concerned about meeting an armed victim
than running into the police.

     Their concern is well founded.  Victims use handguns an
estimated 1.9 million times each year in self-defense against an
attack by another person, according to a survey conducted by
Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck.  Studies have
found that robbery and rape victims who resist with a gun cut the
risks of injury in half.

     Moreover, a study by economists John Lott and David Mustard of
the University of Chicago, published in the January 1997 Journal of
Legal Studies, examined the impact of concealed carry permits.
Using data from all 3,054 U.S. counties between 1977 and 1992, the
study found that:

     *  Concealed handgun laws reduced murder by 8.5 percent, rape
by 5 percent and severe assault by 7 percent.

     *  Had right-to-carry prevailed throughout the country, 1,600
fewer murders, 4,200 fewer rapes and 60,000 fewer severe assaults
would have occurred during those 15 years.

     In addition, the deterrent effect of concealed handgun laws
proved highest in counties with high crime rates.  For example, FBI
statistics showed that in counties with populations of more than
200,000 (typically the counties with the highest rates of violent
crime), laws allowing concealed carry produced a 13 percent drop in
the murder rate and a 7 percent decline in rapes.

     Case Study: Vermont.  Vermont has long had the least
restrictive firearms carry laws, allowing citizens to carry guns
either openly or concealed without any permit.  Vermont also has
maintained one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country.
For example:

     *  In 1980, when murders and robberies in the U.S. had soared
to an average of 10 and 251 per 100,000 population, respectively,
Vermont's murder rate was 22 percent of the national rate and its
robbery rate was 15 percent.

     *  In 1996 Vermont's rates remained among the lowest in the
country at 25 percent of the national rate for homicide and 8
percent for robbery.


     Objection #3: Right-to-carry laws boost killings on impulse.

     Widespread gun availability was supposed to lead to a "wild-
west" mentality with more shootings and deaths as people vented
their anger with pistols instead of fists.  Yet FBI data show that,
as a share of all homicides, killings that resulted from arguments
declined.  In addition:

     *  Dade County, Fla., kept meticulous records for six years,
and of 21,000 permit holders, none was known to have injured an
innocent person.

     *  Since Virginia passed a right-to-carry law, more than
50,000 permits have been issued, not one permit holder has been
convicted of a crime and violent crime has dropped.


     Moreover, those who have broken the rules have lost their
privilege to carry a gun.

     *  Texas has revoked or suspended nearly 300 permits for minor
violations like failure to conceal or carrying a gun in a bar.

     *  Between 1987 and 1995, Florida issued nearly 300,000
permits, but revoked only 19 because the permit holder had
committed a crime.  That's one crime per 14,000 permit holders
during a nine-year period, an incredibly low rate compared to a
criminal arrest rate of one per 14 Americans age 15 and older each
year.


     Objection #4: Concealed carry puts guns in untrained hands.

     Before issuing a concealed carry permit, most states require
that the applicant prove he or she has been thoroughly trained,
with:

     *  10 to 15 hours emphasizing conflict resolution.

     *  A pre-test and a final test covering the laws of self-
defense and the consequences of misuse of deadly force.

     *  A stress on gun safety in the classroom and on the firing
range.

     *  A stringent shooting accuracy test which applicants must
pass each time they renew their permit.

     Of course, a person who has only a split second to decide
whether to use deadly force can make a mistake.  However, only
about 30 such mistaken civilian shootings occur nationwide each
year.  The police kill in error three times as often.


     Objection #5: Concealed carry increases accidental gun deaths.

     The Lott-Mustard study found no increase in accidental
shootings in counties with "shall issue" right-to-carry laws, where
authorities have to issue the permit to all who meet the criteria.
Nor have other studies.  Nationally, there are about 1,400
accidental firearms deaths each year -- far fewer than the number
of deaths attributable to medical errors or automobile accidents.
The national death rate from firearms has declined even while
firearm ownership has almost doubled in the last 20 years (figure
at http://www.ncpa.org/ba/gif/firearms.gif), and 22 more states
have liberalized right-to-carry laws:

     *  The fatal firearm accident rate has declined to about .5
per 100,000 people -- a decrease of more than 19 percent in the
last decade.

     *  The number of fatal firearms-related accidents among
children fell to an all-time low of 185 in 1994, a 64 percent
decline since 1975.


     Conclusion.

     Concealed carry laws have not contributed to a big increase in
gun ownership.  Nor has allowing citizens the right to carry
firearms for self-protection led to the negative consequences
claimed by critics.  In fact, these laws have lowered violent crime
rates and increased the general level of knowledge concerning the
rights, responsibilities and laws of firearm ownership.

     Putting unarmed citizens at the mercy of armed and violent
criminals was never a good idea.  Now that the evidence is in, we
know that concealed carry is a social good.



     This Brief Analysis was prepared by Morgan Reynolds,
     Director of the NCPA Criminal Justice Center, and H.
     Sterling Burnett, Policy Analyst with the NCPA.

     Original document is on the Web at
     http://www.ncpa.org/ba/ba246.html

=================================================================

More on this topic:

     "Myths About Gun Control," also co-written by Morgan Reynolds
of the NCPA, http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s176/s176.html

     NRA Web site, http://www.nra.org

     Handgun Control, Inc. Web site, http://www.handguncontrol.org
(temporarily down when checked on Thursday, February 26).

     Second Amendment law library, http://www.2ndlawlib.org

     "The Commonplace Second Amendment," a law review article by
your humble editor, forthcoming in the NYU Law Review,
http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/volokh/common.htm

=================================================================

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constitutional law and copyright law at UCLA Law School
(http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/volokh), and organized with the
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- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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               405 Hilgard Ave., L.A., CA 90095



- -

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Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:52:16 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Gun permit crime]

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Subject: Re: Gun permit crime
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas

> This refers to Prof Reynolds' posting. I would be very grateful for
> details of the four deaths and six charges of murder or attempted
> murder by Texan concealed carry licensees. I know of only one case, a
> homicide regarded as justified by the grand jury.
> Dan Polsby

See http://www.tsra.com/Lott.htm for some of these answers.

The "four deaths and six charges of murder" are probably
double-counting the same incidents.  Lott remarks that:

   During 1996 and 1997, five permit holders were arrested for "deadly
   conduct/discharge of a firearm" and another two for the "deadly
   conduct/display of a firearm." Those charges were brought in
   connection with four deaths.

Other salient points:

   While the vast majority of murder arrests end in conviction, that
   hasn't been true for permit holders.  Of the four deaths mentioned,
   none has resulted in a conviction. In fact, two so far have been
   cleared and deemed to have acted in self-defense.

   These permit holders were about a third as likely to be arrested as
   nonpermit holders and much less likely to commit serious crimes.
- --

[e-mail]      --If you presume that I speak for my company,
users.aol.com/Tavares/    write now for my special Investors' Packet!



- -

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 14:01:58 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Untitled

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

- --------------43E860102B83
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http://www.tsra.com/Lott.htm

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             Getting the Violence Policy Center in Proper Focus

                       [Image]by Professor John Lott*

There has been some confusion over whether people who have permits to carry
concealed handguns are as law-abiding as other Texans. Using the provocative
title "License to Kill," the Violence Policy Center recently released a
report claiming that "those who do carry concealed handguns get into trouble
more often than other Texans."

While there is cause to wonder whether the Violence Policy Center over
reported the number of permit holders arrested, even its own numbers don't
justify that claim.

During 1996 and 1997, the first two years that the concealed handgun law was
in effect, 163,096 people were licensed. During that period, 263 license
holders were arrested for felony offenses, and another 683 were arrested for
misdemeanor offenses.

By comparison, if permit holders had been arrested at the same rate as the
average adult Texan, they would have had 731 arrests for violence crimes and
2,202 for property crimes.

These permit holders were about a third as likely to be arrested as
nonpermit holders and much less likely to commit serious crimes.

The public's ultimate concern is whether permit holders have used their
concealed handguns improperly. So, let's look at some more statistics to
determine that.

During 1996 and 1997, five permit holders were arrested for "deadly
conduct/discharge of a firearm" and another two for the "deadly
conduct/display of a firearm." Those charges were brought in connection with
four deaths.

If permit holders had been arrested for murder at the same rate as other
adult Texans, 56 would have been arrested.

Equally important, relying on arrest rates misses an important difference
between permit holders and others who are arrested for murder. While the
vast majority of murder arrests end in conviction, that hasn't been true for
permit holders.

Of the four deaths mentioned, none has resulted in a conviction. In fact,
two so far have been cleared and deemed to have acted in self-defense.

Thirty-five other permit holders were arrested for other felony "weapon
- -related offenses," but those involved the unlawful carrying of a weapon in
places such as airports and schools. None of those cases apparently involved
threats but invariably resulted from people who forgot they had a gun with
them.;

Overall, the experience in Texas is similar to that in other states. In
Florida, almost 444,000 licenses were granted from 1987 through 1997. About
half, 204,700 currently are licensed. Eighty-four people lost their licenses
after using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

So far in Virginia, not a single Virginia permit holder has been involved in
a violent crime. Similar results have been observed in Kentucky, Nevada,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and other states for which
detailed records are available.

In December, Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, summed
up the typical reaction of those police officers who opposed the concealed
handgun law before its adoption: "I lobbied against the law in 1993 and 1995
because I thought it would lead to wholesale armed conflict. That hasn't
happened. All the horror stories I thought would come to pass didn't happen.
No bogeyman. I think it has worked out well, and that says good things about
the citizens who have permits. I am a convert."

Harris County District Attorney John Holmes admitted he is "eating a lot of
crow on ;this issue. It isn't something I necessarily like to do, but I am
doing it on this."

In a forthcoming book, I find evidence indicating that concealed handgun
laws save lives and reduce the threats that citizens face from rapes,
robberies and assaults.

Criminals tend to attack victims whom they perceive as weak, and guns can
offset the differences in strength and serve as an important deterrent.

People don't even have to carry a permit themselves to benefit. The fact
that criminals can't tell whether a potential victim has a concealed gun
makes them less likely to attack people in general.

Without a doubt, people do bad things with guns, but guns also protect
people when law enforcement officers aren't able to be there.

In the final analysis, one concern unites us all: Will allowing law abiding
citizens to own guns save lives? Unfortunately, studies like those done by
the Violence Policy Center needlessly scare people and don't move us any
closer to answering that question.

John R. Lott Jr. is the author of More Guns, Less Crime, which will be
published by the University of Chicago Press in May.

- --------------43E860102B83--


- -

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:35:32 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Mikey doesn't like guns

Charles Hardy wrote:
>
> >From today's Tribune:
>
>      ``It's a combination of things,'' Leavitt said. ``No law will
>  ultimately prevent that. But we ought to have the laws because if it
>  can prevent one [tragedy], it's worth it.''
>

heh.

Lessee...if it prevents just one case of whirling disease....

How bout: "If it prevents just one rape, or murder on campus,
our policy of encouraging women to carry hi-cap Glocks will
have been worth it!"

Let's also ban public swimming pools, 'cos if it prevents
just one drowning it will have been worth it.

Oh, and let's ban pregnancy 'cos if it prevents just one
miscarriage it will have been worth it.

Don't forget Emergency Rooms: If it prevents just one
death due to mis-applied medication, it will have been
worth it.

Hurl.

And this guy's gonna get re-elected....

- -

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 13:53:25 -0700
From: Will Thompson <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Fwd: Shortish op-ed on concealed carry]

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From: "Eugene Volokh" <[e-mail]>
To: Multiple recipients of list <[e-mail]>
Subject: Shortish op-ed on concealed carry
X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas

    Reposted with permission.  I suspect those on this list already
know most of the facts chronicled here, but I thought it might
still be useful for those who like to forward these sorts of things.



- ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

Date sent:      Sun, 01 Mar 1998 20:56:47 -0500
To:             [e-mail], [e-mail]
From:           Center Right <[e-mail]>
Subject:        CENTER-RIGHT  Issue 1, March 2, 1998


           CENTER-RIGHT, a free weeklyish e-newsletter
        of centrist, conservative, and libertarian ideas
                     Issue 1, March 2, 1998
                      Over 1100 subscribers

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  No Smoking Guns: Answering Objections to Right-to-Carry Laws
                          [1100 words]

National Center for Policy Analysis, Brief Analysis No. 246 (by
Morgan Reynolds & H. Sterling Burnett):


     Since 1986 the number of states in which it is legal to carry
concealed weapons has grown from nine to 31, representing 49
percent of the country's population.  Should we feel safer?

     Opponents of right-to-carry laws predicted a sharp decline in
public safety because minor incidents would escalate into killings
and more children would be victimized by more guns in irresponsible
hands.  Further, critics claimed that criminals would be undeterred
by any increase in armed citizens.  Indeed, they claimed that
right-to-carry laws would increase crime rather than deter it.
Experience has proven them wrong.

     What objections do the critics offer?


     Objection #1: Citizens are safe enough without handguns.

     Criminals commit 10 million violent and 30 million property
crimes a year.  Hospital emergency rooms treat an estimated 1.4
million people a year for injuries inflicted in violent attacks,
according to a recent Department of Justice study.

     Since the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have held that
the police are not obligated to protect individuals from crime,
citizens are ultimately responsible for their own defense.
Carrying a handgun allows millions to effectively provide for their
own protection.


     Objection #2: Concealed weapons do not deter crime.

     In choosing their crimes, criminals weigh the prospective
costs against the benefits.  If criminals suspect that the costs
will be too high, they are less likely to commit a crime.  The
possibility of a concealed weapon tilts the odds against the
criminal and in favor of the victim.  A survey of 1,847 felons in
10 states found them more concerned about meeting an armed victim
than running into the police.

     Their concern is well founded.  Victims use handguns an
estimated 1.9 million times each year in self-defense against an
attack by another person, according to a survey conducted by
Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck.  Studies have
found that robbery and rape victims who resist with a gun cut the
risks of injury in half.

     Moreover, a study by economists John Lott and David Mustard of
the University of Chicago, published in the January 1997 Journal of
Legal Studies, examined the impact of concealed carry permits.
Using data from all 3,054 U.S. counties between 1977 and 1992, the
study found that:

     *  Concealed handgun laws reduced murder by 8.5 percent, rape
by 5 percent and severe assault by 7 percent.

     *  Had right-to-carry prevailed throughout the country, 1,600
fewer murders, 4,200 fewer rapes and 60,000 fewer severe assaults
would have occurred during those 15 years.

     In addition, the deterrent effect of concealed handgun laws
proved highest in counties with high crime rates.  For example, FBI
statistics showed that in counties with populations of more than
200,000 (typically the counties with the highest rates of violent
crime), laws allowing concealed carry produced a 13 percent drop in
the murder rate and a 7 percent decline in rapes.

     Case Study: Vermont.  Vermont has long had the least
restrictive firearms carry laws, allowing citizens to carry guns
either openly or concealed without any permit.  Vermont also has
maintained one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country.
For example:

     *  In 1980, when murders and robberies in the U.S. had soared
to an average of 10 and 251 per 100,000 population, respectively,
Vermont's murder rate was 22 percent of the national rate and its
robbery rate was 15 percent.

     *  In 1996 Vermont's rates remained among the lowest in the
country at 25 percent of the national rate for homicide and 8
percent for robbery.


     Objection #3: Right-to-carry laws boost killings on impulse.

     Widespread gun availability was supposed to lead to a "wild-
west" mentality with more shootings and deaths as people vented
their anger with pistols instead of fists.  Yet FBI data show that,
as a share of all homicides, killings that resulted from arguments
declined.  In addition:

     *  Dade County, Fla., kept meticulous records for six years,
and of 21,000 permit holders, none was known to have injured an
innocent person.

     *  Since Virginia passed a right-to-carry law, more than
50,000 permits have been issued, not one permit holder has been
convicted of a crime and violent crime has dropped.


     Moreover, those who have broken the rules have lost their
privilege to carry a gun.

     *  Texas has revoked or suspended nearly 300 permits for minor
violations like failure to conceal or carrying a gun in a bar.

     *  Between 1987 and 1995, Florida issued nearly 300,000
permits, but revoked only 19 because the permit holder had
committed a crime.  That's one crime per 14,000 permit holders
during a nine-year period, an incredibly low rate compared to a
criminal arrest rate of one per 14 Americans age 15 and older each
year.


     Objection #4: Concealed carry puts guns in untrained hands.

     Before issuing a concealed carry permit, most states require
that the applicant prove he or she has been thoroughly trained,
with:

     *  10 to 15 hours emphasizing conflict resolution.

     *  A pre-test and a final test covering the laws of self-
defense and the consequences of misuse of deadly force.

     *  A stress on gun safety in the classroom and on the firing
range.

     *  A stringent shooting accuracy test which applicants must
pass each time they renew their permit.

     Of course, a person who has only a split second to decide
whether to use deadly force can make a mistake.  However, only
about 30 such mistaken civilian shootings occur nationwide each
year.  The police kill in error three times as often.


     Objection #5: Concealed carry increases accidental gun deaths.

     The Lott-Mustard study found no increase in accidental
shootings in counties with "shall issue" right-to-carry laws, where
authorities have to issue the permit to all who meet the criteria.
Nor have other studies.  Nationally, there are about 1,400
accidental firearms deaths each year -- far fewer than the number
of deaths attributable to medical errors or automobile accidents.
The national death rate from firearms has declined even while
firearm ownership has almost doubled in the last 20 years (figure
at http://www.ncpa.org/ba/gif/firearms.gif), and 22 more states
have liberalized right-to-carry laws:

     *  The fatal firearm accident rate has declined to about .5
per 100,000 people -- a decrease of more than 19 percent in the
last decade.

     *  The number of fatal firearms-related accidents among
children fell to an all-time low of 185 in 1994, a 64 percent
decline since 1975.


     Conclusion.

     Concealed carry laws have not contributed to a big increase in
gun ownership.  Nor has allowing citizens the right to carry
firearms for self-protection led to the negative consequences
claimed by critics.  In fact, these laws have lowered violent crime
rates and increased the general level of knowledge concerning the
rights, responsibilities and laws of firearm ownership.

     Putting unarmed citizens at the mercy of armed and violent
criminals was never a good idea.  Now that the evidence is in, we
know that concealed carry is a social good.



     This Brief Analysis was prepared by Morgan Reynolds,
     Director of the NCPA Criminal Justice Center, and H.
     Sterling Burnett, Policy Analyst with the NCPA.

     Original document is on the Web at
     http://www.ncpa.org/ba/ba246.html

=================================================================

More on this topic:

     "Myths About Gun Control," also co-written by Morgan Reynolds
of the NCPA, http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s176/s176.html

     NRA Web site, http://www.nra.org

     Handgun Control, Inc. Web site, http://www.handguncontrol.org
(temporarily down when checked on Thursday, February 26).

     Second Amendment law library, http://www.2ndlawlib.org

     "The Commonplace Second Amendment," a law review article by
your humble editor, forthcoming in the NYU Law Review,
http://www.law.ucla.edu/faculty/volokh/common.htm

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               405 Hilgard Ave., L.A., CA 90095



- -

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End of utah-firearms-digest V2 #41
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