Against Concealed Carry Law
The topic of concealed carry is something that a lot of people are talking about. Turn on the news, the radio, read the newspaper, surf the internet and the topic of conceal carry will be discussed. The reason it is so highly discussed is due to the effect that conceal carry will have on everyone regardless of race, age, and socio- economic background. As a resident of Illinois, the most recent state to adopt concealed carry, there continues to be much concern about how it will be monitored and enforced.
Will there be an increase in public safety with the adoption of concealed carry or will here be an increase in gun related injuries and fatalities. The research process for this paper consisted of a comprehensive search via internet of Journal articles related to gun control and concealed carry, library database review, newspaper archives, and broadcast media reports. For the Journal articles and the library database review, the key words “concealed carry’ and “gun control” were utilized.
In reviewing the results from the use of the key words, Journal articles were then organized chronologically from oldest to most recent publication date within groups of relevant subject matter. The selected articles were reviewed and pertinent information was noted for use. Since Illinois is the most recent state to adopt the concealed carry law, newspaper archives were examined for articles concerning the issue in the local News Gazette, the Springfield State Journal Register and the Chicago Tribune. Articles written in 2013 discussing the adoption of the law were used to build a timeline covering the process to date.
Broadcast media sources were searched for recent broadcasts related to concealed carry and gun control, and for examples of recent gun violence where the assage of concealed carry was proposed as the solution to preventing future incidents or blamed as the reason the incidents occurred. Broadcasts fulfilling these requirements were viewed and used to provide evidence on both sides of the issue. Finally, websites for groups on both sides of the issue were reviewed for commentary and viewpoints that would greater examine the arguments both for and against concealed carry.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Students for Concealed Carry, both national organizations provided the voice for pro concealed carry. To represent those against concealed carry, The National Order of Fraternal olice and FINDINGS The May 2013 online article by Facts on File News Services, takes a closer look at gun control following the violence that broke out in an elementary school taking the lives of children and teachers. It was another senseless shooting that shook the nation and seemed it was the final straw forcing individuals and government offices to increase efforts to tighten gun laws.
The second-deadliest mass shooting ever to occur in the United States was the Newton shooting. Only by the 2007 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University shooting where a gunman had took 32 lives hootings in the United States to three in 2012. It was reported in December of 2012 that the Obama administration would support a bill to ban assault weapons, as well as consider a ban on high-capacity magazines, preventing the operator of a gun from rapid fire and rapid reload ofa firearm. January 2013, President Obama urged Congress to pass gun control measures requiring background checks and declaring a ban on assault weapon.
His message was that background checks would tighten the ability of individuals to purchase weapons from gun shows or from private dealers where background checks were not required. Close control on the sale of military- style semi-automatic guns or ‘assault weapons’ was perceived to be a much more difficult process. When put toa vote in front of the senate, Senators voted 54-46 against universal background checks, 54-46 against limits on the size of high-capacity ammunition magazines, and 60-40 against a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in April 2013.
In response to the vote, Obama blasted the gun lobbyists of spreading lies about the expansion of the background checks by implying that gun registry would be controlled by government officials. Those on both sides of he aisle, who assumed a Pro-gun control stance for legislation, committed their voice to the pursuit of gun control. In all 50 states, the carrying of a concealed gun is now legal according to an article that appeared on the website ProCon. org in October 2013. Only Washington, D. C. revents concealed carry except for both active and retired law enforcement officers. This article explores both sides of the concealed carry debate. For example, between May 2007 and March 2010 statistics reveal that nine law enforcement officers and 142 non-law enforcement individuals were killed by concealed carry handgun permit olders across the nation. It is also statistically significant to note that the majority of those who legally carry concealed do not abuse their rights and are non-violent.
While it may seem obvious that criminals are less likely to attack someone that they believe might be armed, it is also important to emphasize that handguns are not an effective form of self-defense often resulting in injury and death for the individual carrying. A concealed handgun significantly increases the chances of a confrontation escalating in violence to a lethal degree. The risk of suicide is magnified as a vast ajority of all suicide attempts are done in times impulsiveness where not only owning, but carrying a handgun gives an individual a method to act.
There are those proponents of concealed carry who will tout the Second Amendment of the U. S. Constitution as a proof that citizens, who are to bear arms for a well-regulated militia, should be entitled to personal carry. Those on the anti concealed side remind us that the Second Amendment provides for bearing arms when there is a need for “a well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. The Constitution does not discuss nor promote concealed handguns for personal protection.
Eleven states have “may issue” laws which give law enforcement discretion in issuing permits. In a February 26, 2013 newspaper article written by Tom Kachich, State Representatives from Illinois approved a number of amendments to pass the concealed-carry law which would allow Illinoisans to carry weapons in public; however they would need to meet certain requirements that needed to be completed concealed-carry, legislation stated that Illinois was going to be a “shall state”, meaning that larger numbers of citizens would be able to acquire permits.
The catch to obtaining a permit is eight hours of training including live-fire training, and would need to undergo a criminal history background check. In order to get a permit, the individual would have to pay an eighty dollar fee for a five-year permit. Representative Brandon Phelps elaborated “that there would be no limitation on the number of weapons a permit-holder could carry, but that the bill is more restrictive than we ever wanted it to be. ” A weapon may not be carried in schools, child care facilities, local government buildings, libraries, stadiums, places of worship, casinos, and is even restricted on mass transit.
Phelps’ amendment would also not permit for those on campuses of colleges and universities to carry a firearm. State Representative, Naomi Jakobsson, proposed another amendment which was approved by the House which stated that firearms should be restricted in hospitals and mental health facilities. Karen Farkas wrote an article in the September 2013 edition of the Cleveland News about concealed carry on college campuses. Of the 1,649 students surveyed at fifteen public colleges in the Midwest, 78% reported that they did not support the carrying of handguns on college campuses.
Most students reported that not only ould they not feel safer on campus; they were concerned about the potential for an increased risk of suicides and homicides. Ohio is a part of 49 states that have concealed carry weapons laws and one of 22 states that ban carrying a concealed weapon on a college campus. “l think for the majority of people this (concealed handguns) is not on their radar screen because it is so absurd,” said Amy Thompson, who is a professor in the department of public health at the University of Toledo who led the study. Why bring guns into the learning environment? When I talk to my students (about concealed carry) they say ‘Are you kidding me? I don’t want a kid sitting next to me in class with a backpack with a gun in it. ” Thompson, who is a part of a team of researchers, conducted a survey with the faculty and university presidents to see who supported the concealed carry and who didn’t. “As a public health professor I wanted to look at who is pushing this and is it something that really, truly everyone wants,” she said.
College students need to be aware of the value of a concealed carry weapon because a college campus is no different than a small city. Kurt Mueller, who is the organization’s public relations director said, “The survey aid that most students believed that allowing concealed carry would increase the risks of suicides and homicides, and if you wanted to commit a homicide with a firearm you don’t need a carry a permit to do it because they aren’t worried about violation of the firearms law. Thompson said that a survivor of the Virginia Tech shootings who was shot four times spoke on her campus and said even if he had been armed he wouldn’t have been able to do anything and would have been more likely to be killed. And Thompson says, “There is tons of research that will back that up. The study that she instructed also found that about 16 percent of undergraduate students own a firearm and 20 percent witnessed a crime on their campus that involved firearms; about 66 percent felt that if they carried gun it would make them less likely to be bothered by others. eapons on college campuses, and five other states put forth bills that would prohibit concealed weapons on campuses. Even though the legislation was pushing for weapons, studies suggest that a large number of college students did not support allowing concealed weapons while attending school. 78% of the students, who were urveyed at 1 5 different Midwestern colleges and universities, expressed opposition to concealed weapons, according to the study which was published in the Journal of American College Health. This issue of allowing people to carry concealed weapons at universities and colleges around the U. S. has been raised several times in recent years,” said Jagdish Khubchandani, who is a member of Ball State University. “This is in spite of the fact that almost four of every five students are not in favor of allowing guns on campus. ” In a statement published July 12, 2013 The National Rifle Association (NRA) roposed that the Second Amendment is a far more important portion of the Bill of Rights, suggesting that far more emphasis should be placed on it than even the First Amendment.
This belief is behind the NRA attempts the legislature and the courts to be able to expand rights to gun owners while weakening the rights of gun opponents. The NRA views the resistance to concealed carry as a type of reverse discrimination which would prevent people who should have the ability to protect themselves from that right. The passage of concealed carry laws has been a focus of the NRA. Their tance is that while individual rights are important, nothing is important as the right to carry. Another group that is pro- concealed carry law would be a student organization known as Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
These students believe that if they were allowed to carry a concealed weapon on them that they would feel safer walking alone at night or even if someone they did not know approached them. They support the individual’s right to defend themselves in times of personal Jeopardy. For every group that supports concealed carry, there is a group of people who do not. One such group is The National Order of Fraternal Police. A group of law enforcement officers, this group strongly believes that they should be the only ones to have a handgun. Police officers have been highly trained regarding the necessity of the use of a weapon.
These officers are entrusted by their cities and communities to utilize firearms only when essential for public safety. In a profession which is not only dangerous, but also unpredictable, the concern that the officer will not know whom is armed and who is not could raise the intensity surrounding altercations, and holds the potential for concealed carriers to get involved in situations they are ot prepared for. Further Research Currently the most interesting sources were the ones about the facts about concealed carry and the attempt to pass the gun control law after the school massacre fail.
One of the issues emerging was whether or not college campuses should allow students to carry a concealed weapon on them while at school. Some students thought that they should be able to carry a gun so that they would feel safer when walking alone at night; while others weren’t keen on the idea of carrying a weapon. Most people would agree with having a concealed weapon, even though you ave to complete a certain amount of training hours and live fire hours to carry a concealed carry rather than be for it since there has been so many school shootings and even shootings in my town not too long ago.
