The Life-and-Death Cost of Gun Control
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Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Interesting conceal and carry facts from Texas
Concealed Carry in Texas
-The rate of concealed carry in Texas is about 1.2%. Approximately one Texan out of every 83 is licensed to carry a concealed handgun. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau)
-In the state of Texas, concealed carry is allowed in most unsecured locations, including office buildings, movie theaters, grocery stores, shopping malls, restaurants, churches, banks, and state and municipal buildings (including the Texas State Capitol building in Austin).
-In Texas, concealed handgun license holders are already allowed to carry concealed handguns in the outdoor common areas of college campuses—areas such as streets, sidewalks, walkways, parking lots, parking garages, etc. Current state law only prohibits concealed carry in campus buildings (TX PC § 46.035[f][3]).
"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's worked out well, and that says good things about the citizens who have permits. I'm a convert." -- Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, Dallas Morning News, December 23, 1997
"I ... [felt] that such legislation present[ed] a clear and present danger to law-abiding citizens by placing more handguns on our streets. Boy was I wrong. Our experience in Harris County, and indeed statewide, has proven my fears absolutely groundless." -- Harris County [Texas] District Attorney John Holmes, Dallas Morning News, December 23, 1997
According to statistics:
-A packed 350-seat Texas movie theater contains four concealed handgun license holders. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau)
-During the busy holiday shopping season, over 1,000 concealed handgun license holders visit the outlet malls in San Marcos, Texas, EVERY DAY. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau; "San Marcos prepared for shopping crowds on tax-free weekend," August 18, 2008, Austin American-Statesman)
-If the violent crime rate among all U.S. citizens was the same as the violent crime rate among Texas concealed handgun license holders, the United States would have a lower violent crime rate than England. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Department of Justice; United Nations)
-Based on 2002-2006 statistics, Texas concealed handgun license holders are five and a half times less likely than members of Texas’s general population to commit manslaughter and four times less likely to commit murder. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau)
-In the thirteen years since Texas began issuing concealed handgun licenses (January 1, 1996), no Texas concealed handgun license holder has been convicted of capital murder. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
-Concealed carry has not led to an escalation of violent crime in the state of Texas. In fact, Texas’s murder rate fell 50% faster than the national average in the year after Texas’s concealed carry law passed. The rape rate fell 93% faster in the first year after enactment and 500% faster in the second year. The overall assault rate fell 250% faster in the second year. (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
-A Texan is more than twice as likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning (and more than 20 times as likely to be struck by lightning) as to be murdered or negligently killed by a Texas concealed handgun license holder. (Texas Department of Public Safety, five year average of statistics on criminal convictions of CHL holders, 2002-2006; U.S. National Weather Service, "Medical Aspects of Lightning," Dr. Marry Ann Cooper)
-The rate of concealed carry in Texas is about 1.2%. Approximately one Texan out of every 83 is licensed to carry a concealed handgun. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau)
-In the state of Texas, concealed carry is allowed in most unsecured locations, including office buildings, movie theaters, grocery stores, shopping malls, restaurants, churches, banks, and state and municipal buildings (including the Texas State Capitol building in Austin).
-In Texas, concealed handgun license holders are already allowed to carry concealed handguns in the outdoor common areas of college campuses—areas such as streets, sidewalks, walkways, parking lots, parking garages, etc. Current state law only prohibits concealed carry in campus buildings (TX PC § 46.035[f][3]).
"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's worked out well, and that says good things about the citizens who have permits. I'm a convert." -- Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, Dallas Morning News, December 23, 1997
"I ... [felt] that such legislation present[ed] a clear and present danger to law-abiding citizens by placing more handguns on our streets. Boy was I wrong. Our experience in Harris County, and indeed statewide, has proven my fears absolutely groundless." -- Harris County [Texas] District Attorney John Holmes, Dallas Morning News, December 23, 1997
According to statistics:
-A packed 350-seat Texas movie theater contains four concealed handgun license holders. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau)
-During the busy holiday shopping season, over 1,000 concealed handgun license holders visit the outlet malls in San Marcos, Texas, EVERY DAY. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau; "San Marcos prepared for shopping crowds on tax-free weekend," August 18, 2008, Austin American-Statesman)
-If the violent crime rate among all U.S. citizens was the same as the violent crime rate among Texas concealed handgun license holders, the United States would have a lower violent crime rate than England. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Department of Justice; United Nations)
-Based on 2002-2006 statistics, Texas concealed handgun license holders are five and a half times less likely than members of Texas’s general population to commit manslaughter and four times less likely to commit murder. (Texas Department of Public Safety; U.S. Census Bureau)
-In the thirteen years since Texas began issuing concealed handgun licenses (January 1, 1996), no Texas concealed handgun license holder has been convicted of capital murder. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
-Concealed carry has not led to an escalation of violent crime in the state of Texas. In fact, Texas’s murder rate fell 50% faster than the national average in the year after Texas’s concealed carry law passed. The rape rate fell 93% faster in the first year after enactment and 500% faster in the second year. The overall assault rate fell 250% faster in the second year. (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
-A Texan is more than twice as likely to be killed by a bolt of lightning (and more than 20 times as likely to be struck by lightning) as to be murdered or negligently killed by a Texas concealed handgun license holder. (Texas Department of Public Safety, five year average of statistics on criminal convictions of CHL holders, 2002-2006; U.S. National Weather Service, "Medical Aspects of Lightning," Dr. Marry Ann Cooper)
What we are and what we are not
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprised of over 35,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else. SCCC has members in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Both the membership and the leadership of SCCC are made up of individuals with very diverse political backgrounds. Among SCCC's leaders you'll find conservatives, moderates, liberals, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, etc. The members of SCCC look beyond partisanship, toward the common goal of achieving state laws and school policies based on factual evidence rather than emotional rhetoric.
College campuses, though typically safe, do play host to every type of violent crime found in the rest of society, from assault to rape to murder. Recent high-profile shootings and armed abductions on college campuses clearly demonstrate that "gun free zones" serve to disarm only those law-abiding citizens who might otherwise be able to protect themselves.
Because numerous independent researchers and state agencies agree that concealed handgun license holders are five times less likely than non-license holders to commit violent crimes; because no other type of location has seen an increased rate of violent crime since concealed carry became legal there; because the eleven U.S. colleges/universities that currently allow concealed carry on campus (and have done so for a combined total of more than eighty semesters) have not seen any resulting incidents of gun violence, gun accidents, or gun thefts; and because college campuses are open environments that lack screening measures such as metal detectors, X-ray machines, and controlled points of entry, SCCC feels that there is no pragmatic basis for declaring college campuses off-limits to concealed carry by the same trained, licensed adults (age twenty-one and above in most states) who lawfully and safely carry concealed handguns in locations such as office buildings, movie theaters, grocery stores, shopping malls, restaurants, churches, banks, etc.
SCCC has two main functions. The first function is to dispel the common myths and misconceptions about concealed carry on college campuses, by making the public aware of the facts. The second function is to push state legislators and school administrators to grant concealed handgun license holders the same rights on college campuses that those licensees currently enjoy in most other unsecured locations.
Because SCCC fully supports states' rights, its policy is to push for change at the state level, rather than at the federal level. The first step is to see the laws in many states amended to remove statutory prohibitions against concealed carry on college campuses. The next step is to see other states follow Utah's lead in prohibiting state-funded colleges from refusing to honor state-issued licenses.
Though SCCC supports concealed carry on the campuses of both public and private colleges, it also strongly supports the rights of private property owners; therefore, SCCC believes that the issue of concealed carry at private colleges must be handled through negotiations with school administrators, rather than through state legislation. SCCC believes that private colleges should be encouraged to support concealed carry on campus through the enactment of state laws that grant colleges immunity from liability associated with allowing concealed carry on campus.
SCCC supports the legalization of CONCEALED carry by LICENSED individuals on COLLEGE campuses. SCCC has no official positions on open carry, unlicensed concealed carry, or concealed carry on the campuses of primary or secondary schools.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is not affiliated with the NRA, a political party, or any other organization.
Straight from the organization's central website, www.concealedcampus.org
Both the membership and the leadership of SCCC are made up of individuals with very diverse political backgrounds. Among SCCC's leaders you'll find conservatives, moderates, liberals, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, etc. The members of SCCC look beyond partisanship, toward the common goal of achieving state laws and school policies based on factual evidence rather than emotional rhetoric.
College campuses, though typically safe, do play host to every type of violent crime found in the rest of society, from assault to rape to murder. Recent high-profile shootings and armed abductions on college campuses clearly demonstrate that "gun free zones" serve to disarm only those law-abiding citizens who might otherwise be able to protect themselves.
Because numerous independent researchers and state agencies agree that concealed handgun license holders are five times less likely than non-license holders to commit violent crimes; because no other type of location has seen an increased rate of violent crime since concealed carry became legal there; because the eleven U.S. colleges/universities that currently allow concealed carry on campus (and have done so for a combined total of more than eighty semesters) have not seen any resulting incidents of gun violence, gun accidents, or gun thefts; and because college campuses are open environments that lack screening measures such as metal detectors, X-ray machines, and controlled points of entry, SCCC feels that there is no pragmatic basis for declaring college campuses off-limits to concealed carry by the same trained, licensed adults (age twenty-one and above in most states) who lawfully and safely carry concealed handguns in locations such as office buildings, movie theaters, grocery stores, shopping malls, restaurants, churches, banks, etc.
SCCC has two main functions. The first function is to dispel the common myths and misconceptions about concealed carry on college campuses, by making the public aware of the facts. The second function is to push state legislators and school administrators to grant concealed handgun license holders the same rights on college campuses that those licensees currently enjoy in most other unsecured locations.
Because SCCC fully supports states' rights, its policy is to push for change at the state level, rather than at the federal level. The first step is to see the laws in many states amended to remove statutory prohibitions against concealed carry on college campuses. The next step is to see other states follow Utah's lead in prohibiting state-funded colleges from refusing to honor state-issued licenses.
Though SCCC supports concealed carry on the campuses of both public and private colleges, it also strongly supports the rights of private property owners; therefore, SCCC believes that the issue of concealed carry at private colleges must be handled through negotiations with school administrators, rather than through state legislation. SCCC believes that private colleges should be encouraged to support concealed carry on campus through the enactment of state laws that grant colleges immunity from liability associated with allowing concealed carry on campus.
SCCC supports the legalization of CONCEALED carry by LICENSED individuals on COLLEGE campuses. SCCC has no official positions on open carry, unlicensed concealed carry, or concealed carry on the campuses of primary or secondary schools.
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is not affiliated with the NRA, a political party, or any other organization.
Straight from the organization's central website, www.concealedcampus.org
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