--- begin forwarded text Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 08:18:04 -0800 To: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com> From: Somebody Subject: Only criminals don't support concealed-carry laws

.> =============================================== NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 =============================================== For release: December 9, 1997 =============================================== For additional information: George Getz, Deputy Director of Communications Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 E-Mail: 76214.3676@CompuServe.com ===============================================

The evidence is clear: Only criminals don't support concealed-carry laws, say Libertarians

WASHINGTON, DC -- If you want to reduce crime, allow more people to carry more concealed guns, the Libertarian Party said today.

And that opinion is confirmed by a new Cato Institute study, which found that violent crime rates dropped dramatically in the 24 states that have passed "concealed-carry" laws -- which allow ordinary citizens to carry concealed weapons.

"At this point, the only people who don't support concealed-carry laws are criminals," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national chairman.

In those 24 states, concealed-carry laws force local police to grant most citizens a concealed weapon permit after meeting certain qualifications. Usually, that includes getting fingerprinted, passing a criminal background check, and taking a gun safety course.

"For years, gun-control advocates claimed that laws allowing concealed weapons would lead to murder and mayhem," said Steve Dasbach, chairman of the Libertarian Party. "But the exact opposite is true: Concealed weapons actually save lives."

The Cato Institute study, timed to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of Florida's controversial concealed-carry law, found that in the 24 states with concealed-carry laws, murders dropped by 7.7%, rapes fell by 5.2%, robberies decreased by 2.2%, and aggravated assaults were reduced by 7%.

And in states where politicians continue to outlaw concealed weapons?

"There's blood in the streets," Dasbach said. "After accounting for all other factors, the study calculated that in 1992 alone, 1,414 more people were murdered than would have been if concealed-carry laws were in effect."

And the carnage doesn't end there: An additional 4,177 people were raped, 11,898 more were robbed, and 60,363 more assaulted solely as a result of the increased criminal activity that apparently comes with concealed weapons bans, the study said.

"But who is surprised that violent street thugs prefer to prey on people who can't shoot back?" Dasbach asked. "By refusing to approve concealed-carry laws, politicians in other states have painted a target on the back of America's most vulnerable citizens."

The study also shoots a hole in two other gun-control myths, Dasbach said. One is that concealed-carry laws will resurrect the "Wild West," turning ordinary Americans into trigger-happy gunslingers.

"The study found that the number of concealed-carry permit-holders convicted of murder committed in public is exactly zero, and less serious crimes are extremely rare," he said. For example, only one in 5,000 Floridians have had their permits revoked for crimes involving a firearm.

The other myth: That accidental shootings will become commonplace.

"The number of accidental deaths increased so slightly (less than half of 1%) that implementing concealed-carry laws in every remaining state would result in less than one additional death per year - -- far less than the number of lives saved because of the reduced murder rate," said Dasbach.

"In other words, the real danger comes not from concealed weapons, but from the lack of them," he said.

Dasbach emphasized that although concealed-carry laws are a major step in the right direction, they're not the perfect solution for Libertarians.

"Right-to-carry laws are only a partial victory because Americans shouldn't have to seek government permission to exercise any Constitutional right. Imagine what would happen if politicians dared to require every journalist to pass a writing test to get a permit to cover city hall, or tried to force ministers to demonstrate a basic knowledge of religion before giving a sermon," he said.

But requiring a permit is better than the alternative, he said: Sentencing innocent people to death because they can't legally defend themselves.

"Denying terrified Americans the right to carry a gun is like putting them at the front of the line on Death Row," he said. "At they very least, politicians should have the decency to stop disarming America's most vulnerable citizens: Crime victims."

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The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072

__________________________________________________________________________ <somebody's.sig> --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com), Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>