"I am not in favor of concealed weapons," Obama said. "I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during)altercations."
Egad. This is just stupid.
Do you know how many states have concealed carry laws on the books? Take a gander at the map below. Source here.
Thirty-six states have concealed carry licensing for law-abiding citizens. If concealed carry really lead to the sort of danger that Obama alludes to, it would be all over the national news. Headlines would practically scream about licensed concealed carry gunowners going postal on the highways, in parking lots, grocery stores, etc. But the fact is, that simply doesn't happen. Statistics prove that. Check this out.
In 2005 RTC states had lower violent crime rates, on average, compared to the rest of the country (total violent crime by 22%; murder, 30%; robbery, 46%; and aggravated assault, 12%) and included the seven states with the lowest total violent crime rates, and 11 of the 12 states with the lowest murder rates.
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Studying crime trends in every county in the U.S., John Lott and David Mustard found, “allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes and it appears to produce no increase in accidental deaths. If those states which did not have Right to Carry concealed gun provisions had adopted them in 1992, approximately 1,570 murders; 4,177 rapes; and over 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avoided yearly....[W]hen state concealed handgun laws went into effect in a county, murders fell by 8.5 percent, and rapes and aggravated assaults fell by 5 and 7 percent.”
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Dave Kopel has written, “Whenever a state legislature first considers a concealed carry bill, opponents typically warn of horrible consequences....But within a year of passage, the issue usually drops off the news media’s radar screen, while gun-control advocates in the legislature conclude that the law wasn’t so bad after all.”6 A article related to Michigan’s RTC law said, “Concerns that permit holders would lose their tempers in traffic accidents have been unfounded. Worries about risks to police officers have also proved unfounded....National surveys of police show they support concealed handgun laws by a 3-1 margin....There is also not a single academic study that claims Right to Carry laws have increased state crime rates. The debate among academics has been over how large the benefits have been.”
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More importantly, Liberals, like Barack Hussein Obama - the Senator with the most liberal voting record - forget one very important thing: criminals don't apply for concealed carry licenses, only law-abiding citizens do.
And, this is an important distinction. You and I have a natural right, a Constitutionally recognized right to protect our life, liberty, and property. Moreover, as you may or may not know, the police are not required to protect you.
In Warren v. District of Columbia (1981), the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled, “official police personnel and the government employing them are not generally liable to victims of criminal acts for failure to provide adequate police protection. . . a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular citizen.” In Bowers v. DeVito (1982), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, “[T]here is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen.”
So apparently, according to Obama's own words, you shouldn't be protecting yourself and legally the cops don't have to. That's a fine kettle of fish, eh?
Yeah. I'm still no closer to actually voting for this Liberal. My life is still more important to me than that of my attacker. Sorry, Obama. (Well, actually, I'm not sorry. I just don't like his ridiculous positions.)
h/t: Michelle Malkin
