Need rational talk on concealed carry
- Article
Need rational talk on concealed carry
I was very disappointed with your article, "Concealed carry recipe for disaster, transit chiefs say." The chiefs' opinion that allowing passengers to carry concealed weapons on mass transit "could" have catastrophic consequences was simply an opinion based on nothing other than a political agenda. No facts, no studies, all of which are easy to find.
Why not look at the other 49 states that allow conceal carry? I am sure one or two have a bus or train. We hear the same exaggerations from those opposed to conceal carry .. will lead to the Wild West, road rage battles, simple confrontations now leading to gunfights. Has not happened, in any of the other 49 states in our country.
The relationship of concealed carry to increase/decrease in crime has been studied extensively. There are studies that show a consistent drop in violent crime when a state passes conceal carry. There are also studies questioning this drop in violent crime to the point where any benefit is negligible. There also may be a shift in crime, such as from violent crime to more property crime. However, there are no studies of any kind showing the opposite result, that crime increases. These scary events the politicians are attempting to create all the fear about has never happened, anywhere in the U.S.
The Seventh Circuit case mandating conceal carry in Illinois (Moore and Shepard v. Madigan) lists of several studies from both sides of the issue. Maybe if our politicians and the mouthpieces for same spent more time getting facts and less time pontificating about what they do not know, we could someday have a rational, well reasoned discussion about this and other issues facing our state and country.
Can our politicians do this? I would not hold my breath.
Scott C Haugh
Roselle
