Topic Island

Post written by Rick Doyle

Concealed Carry Weapons Permit Exacts Responsibility, Safety

CCW and the right to carry weapons, concealed no less is a touchy subject at best.  My whole family and I have a concealed carry permit, including my wife and my in-laws.  It has to be in the water, or the air but most likely the news and paranoia is rampant.  What other reason would possess good law-abiding people to want or need a concealed carry weapons permit?   We’ll first look at those reasons and then we’ll cover what requirements are involved that maintain safety measures and the responsibility that comes with carrying a loaded weapon.  Bear in mind that for every safety concern there is a criminal who is willing to break the law to get hold of a weapon for criminal purposes.  Even if you destroyed every gun in the USA it wouldn’t make any difference.  Do you think for even a second that there has NEVER been a rape, murder, robbery or major violent crime that was NOT committed with a gun?  Let’s also consider objects that have been used and will be used in the future if no guns existed.  Knifes, baseball bats, pipes, bricks, hammers, cleavers, swords, spears, sticks, bombs, ropes, anything you can swing, throw or has an edge has worked throughout history.  Rubber duckies are safe in the right hands.  As the popular bumper sticker says, “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”

Maybe I just live too close to high crime areas like Cincinnati, Ohio.  We usually have each day at least one or two illegal shootings, one murder, a few robberies, rapes, muggings and fights all by illegally armed criminals.  Don’t forget the occasional carjacking, escaped convict and of course the never-ending domestic disputes.  Cincinnati is not unique.  I can turn on the national news any time of the day or night and get the same story.  Do you ever see CCW license holders in these stories as the perpetrators of these crimes?  Never.  With population growth and increasing crime statistics the odds of you encountering some sort of a violent occurrence increase each day.  Personally I would rather be safe than sorry.  Hindsight is 20/20 and once you are the victim of a crime with no means of protecting yourself, you can’t go back and undo it.  Consider the current economic disaster with so many people losing their jobs and their homes which tends to generate feelings of desperation.  Desperate people will do anything to save, if not themselves, then their family from homelessness and starvation.  Look at the number of people incarcerated and how many are being released because we can’t house or control this enormous number of violent offenders which is becoming ever worse with budget cuts and overcrowded jails.  And don’t forget the other horrible crimes such as sex offenses, school shootings and domestic violence situations when a person kills their whole family and then themselves (I always wondered why they didn’t just do the world a favor and reverse the order).

Please don’t think naively that none of these crimes will ever happen to or affect you.  Think of all those unsuspecting victims who were just living their lives, perhaps in the store buying a soda or buying their child a birthday present when suddenly their life, or their child’s life, is taken away from them by a criminal.  What do you think they would do differently had they survived?  What choice do you think their families or their children would make?  I think the vast majority would choose to be prepared and arm themselves so they could at least have a fighting chance.  Law abiding people, as with 90% of all police officers, will never have the need to draw their weapon in their lifetime or even their career.  I have friends who are police officers who have never pulled their weapon other than to qualify or practice at the range.  There are three major advantages that conceal and carry weapons permits provide.  First, it levels the playing field. Second, it creates an atmosphere of deterrence.  Third, it allows not only that person a chance to protect themselves or their defenseless children but it also affords a degree of protection to those around them.  For example, some companies and institutions do not allow concealed carry permit holders to have their weapons on their property.   Ask the University of Virginia Tech how well that worked out when CCW holders had to leave their weapons off site when a shooting rampage by an unstable individual broke out.  By the time help arrived there were many dead and injured people.  A lot of lives could have been saved if a responsible CCW holder had been able to stop the shooter right after he began firing.  I’m not talking about a vigilante, just an average guy or gal who has a legitimate permit and is trained and licensed to carry.  There was also a major grocery chain in Ohio that had a store policy against weapons in the store.  A CCW license holder was shot in the store and watched the shooter gun down 3 others because he didn’t have his concealed weapon.  On the first shot that holder who was trapped could have fought back and at least attempted to protect themselves and possibly the others.  The same is true for the University of Virginia Tech massacre and the Binghamton Immigration Center which had a body count of thirteen.  In the case of the University of Virginia Tech massacre it was later discovered that at least three legal conceal carry weapons permit holders were all onsite but unarmed.  Tell their families that their children and friends could have easily survived but a rule making it easier for the criminal and illegal for the victim to protect themselves was in place. The reasons to carry are much longer than this list; just ask any victim of a violent crime.

Let’s assume my arguments are 51% more valid than not.  Most states have concealed carry weapons permit requirements and license laws, training and procedures in place, including states reciprocity with other states. The requirements to obtain my permit included fingerprinting, firearms training, firearms proficiency testing, criminal background check, sheriff’s review of paperwork and FBI review.  Crime goes down and gun safety goes up.  When my 5′-4″, 120 lb wife is out by herself, whether she’s out of her car in an unpatrolled lot or is driving through a bad area of town my peace of mind is pretty good these days.  A firearm is nicknamed “The Equalizer” for a good reason.  Criminals are becoming more aware that victims might not be victims as easily anymore or at least not without the possibility of a fair fight. The mugger who brings a knife to a gun fight usually doesn’t win.  A rape victim can now leave her house without being paralyzed by fear because she is defenseless.  The home invasion that no longer threatens families because an armed assailant is faced with run or die now that the trained citizen knows how to handle a firearm responsibly.  The safety of a woman who left an abusive man who threatens her or her children harm will not so readily try to carry out those threats if he knows that she can defend herself and her children. The required responsibility that comes with concealed carry weapons permit is enormous and demands a clean history, investment in training, weapon, learning the laws and a willingness to place yourself in a position of serious accountability.

It is not about the size of your weapon or a testosterone type ego driven desire to be like Dirty Harry.  I honestly haven’t met a CCW holder like that yet.  I mostly come across parents and older folks who are just tired of living in fear. They are tired of not having enough police around when they’re needed and are tired of being victims.  Granted, being a CCW license holder is a responsibility that is not for everyone.  There are those that worry about safety. Criminals have weapons and we have second amendment rights.  Exercised with logic and safety and having completed all the requirements means that they are part of the solution, not the problem.  Places where my right to carry are not recognized usually do not get my business.  I respect the rules and abide by them as most CCW carriers do.  Most of those who aren’t licensed are criminals and they don’t respect the rules.  I’m sure you will want to weigh in on this and as long as we each respect each other’s choice and do NOT try to force that choice onto each other, hopefully the day will never come where you need someone legitimately armed to protect you. If ever you do, they legally have accepted responsibility to protect your safety as well as their own and I hope that you or someone you love gets home that night unharmed. Let us know what you think.