Why Concealed Carry Permits Numbers are Soaring

Carry permits for concealed weapons are soaring all across the country. Part of the reason for this is uncertainty about the future. No one knows what is going to happen with tax rates, inflation, Obamacare, and the stock market.

This uncertainty has translated into uncertainty about public safety, both from ordinary criminals and from the possibility of a breakdown of public order.

A comment writer in Lane County, Oregon expresses the motives for and results of obtaining a concealed carry permit well:

After many years of no guns in the home (grandchildren, after all), we made the decision to resume owning and carrying firearms last fall. BEST DECISION EVER!

It had been over 20 years since we had a gun in the house. So we took some courses (several, actually), carefully selected handguns and a home-defense shotgun that fit and suit us, and have discovered a peace of mind, confidence and security beyond anything I expected. I had expected we'd be anxious or worried about safety. The opposite has happened! I don't worry nearly as much about my wife going out, the house feels much more like a refuge, and I recommend it.

Only caveat: GET TRAINED! Don't settle for "knowing" what to do or even how to do it. GET TRAINED! Practice, and get some individual coaching. Practice some more. Develop solid safety habits. There are several excellent trainers in the area--find one whose personality suits you and keep going back. Or, attend a variety of classes. Personally, I like the different styles and emphasis each instructor has had. "You can't learn less!" And then, keep practicing.

Best decision we've made since deciding to get married! (Having kids was a pretty good decision, too!)

Lane County Oregon has been experiencing a surge of concealed carry permit applications. Over 8 percent of registered voters now have concealed carry permits, and the surge is accelerating.

Several other commentators echoed the response above.

Gains in the number of concealed carry permit holders are spread across the country, with increases in applications and permit numbers a common story across the states.

Even Illinois, the last holdout to forbid the carry of arms for defense by anyone not an agent of the state, is under Court order from the Seventh Circuit to pass a law to allow residents to legally carry weapons for self defense. If the Illinois legislature fails to do so, the laws forbidding the carrying of arms in Illinois will become null and void on June 10th, 2013.

There have been some setbacks in deep blue states such as New York and Maryland, or even in Colorado, where combined heavy lobbying by the Obama administration and heavy spending by Michael Bloomberg (Billionaire Mayor of New York) resulted in a flawed and unenforceable patchwork of emotional legislation directed against armed citizens.

Many more states are simplifying and making easier the ability to carry arms for self defense.

Texas is on the verge of reducing the hours of training required from 10 to 4. Arkansas has made carrying weapons simpler and safer through definitional changes in their law. North Carolina is strongly moving toward easier carry in restaurants and on college campus grounds. Missouri is moving to reduce the age required to obtain a concealed carry permit from 21 to 19. Louisiana passed a constitutional amendment to creating one of the strongest protections of the right to keep and bear arms in the nation.

This short listing is by no means exhaustive or complete. Legal challenges are already being filed against the hastily prepared laws passed under extreme pressure and sometimes bizarre circumstances in New York, Maryland, and Colorado.

The last comprehensive survey of states indicated that more than 8 million concealed carry permits were active across the nation. The data from that report was gathered more than a year ago. It would be reasonable to expect the number of people with concealed carry permits to be over 10 million at this time. To put that number in context, there are about 800,000 full time law enforcement personnel in the United States.

Surveys of criminals have verified that they fear armed citizens as much as police. Increasing the number of armed responders on the street make it likely that the multi-decade decrease in violent crime will continue.

©2013 by Dean Weingarten Permission to share granted as long as this notice is included.