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Author: acdesign
Open Carry Laws Benefit Public Safety? – A Refutation
Joe Pierce, the co-founder of OpenCarry.org, argues that open carry laws benefit public safety in an article he wrote for US News and Report.
Pierce argues is that open carry is not a privilege that the state grants to citizens but a constitutional right. He writes that, “the right to openly bear arms for security and self-defense is enshrined not only in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution but also in a majority of state constitutions.” Pierce asserts that open carry is “very much in keeping with the framers’ view of the constitutional right to bear arms.”
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “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 has always been interpreted in various ways. There is really no way to know what exactly the founding fathers meant when they wrote about “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Pierce states, “Today, in a whopping 29 states (that’s a majority for those who are keeping score), any law-abiding citizen who is not prohibited by law from possessing firearms may openly carry with no government permit or license required.”
This is a chilling fact: in nearly three fifths of the country, any law-abiding citizen who isn’t forbidden by law may openly carry a gun without a permit or license. The fact that there is so little regulation already should be a red flag that some regulation is required.
Pierce goes on to argue that open carry also provides several benefits for public safety. He writes that “criminals make a large effort to try to hide their weapons, but open carriers wear their firearms properly holstered and go out willing to subject themselves to the scrutiny of their neighbors and of law enforcement.”
Pierce is arguing that having open carried weapons is safer than trying to hide them. We believe that neither is safe. Carrying guns in public, whether concealed or open carry, is inherently dangerous. There are even more opportunities for intentional or unintentional violence to occur. Concealed weapons are a safety risk, but the unregulated open carrying of firearms is an even bigger one!
Concealed Carry Killers – an Affirmative Argument
Many people are under the impression that concealed gun carriers are the “good guys,” using their guns only for self-defense, but far too often this is not the case.
Concealed carrying is a problem because it increases crime just as much as it deters it, it can turn confrontations into lethal incidents, it gives dangerous people easy access to firearms, it encourages criminals to carry guns, and it makes non-carrying people vulnerable.
Concealed Carry Killers is a resource created and updated by the Violence Policy Center that includes a considerable number of examples of “non-self defense killings by private citizens with permits to carry concealed, loaded handguns in public that took place since May 2007.” As of August 12, 2016, Concealed Carry Killers has recorded “696 concealed carry related incidents in 41 states and the District of Columbia resulting in 885 deaths.”
Concealed guns can turn confrontations into lethal incidents.What starts out as a disagreement, can too easily turn violent or even deadly, if either of the parties have easy access to weapons. Especially if in common places such as movie theaters, bars, or even traffic (and we all know how frustrating rush hour can be)! Take the situation below for example…
Spotlight: Neighborhood shooting in Maryland |
 “On April 3, 2011, Charles Edward “Pete” Richter Jr., 66, shot and killed his neighbor Mark Xander, 55, after Xander’s Rottweiler went on to Richter’s property. Richter’s defense attorney told a judge deciding bail that Richter had a permit to carry a handgun issued by the Maryland State Police… Read More |
Concealed carrying gives dangerous people easy access to firearms. Concealed carry is good in theory, but not so much in reality. If only good, law-abiding citizens were able to obtain permits, there would be no issue. However, there is no way of guaranteeing the intents of other people or that a “good person” will continue to act the same way upon obtaining his or her permit.
The right to concealed carry encourages criminals to carry guns. Criminals will always find ways to obtain weapons, but one of the main reasons that they carry guns is to protect themselves from possible victims who are also armed.
Concealed carrying makes non-carrying people vulnerable. This is kind of an obvious one… As a non-armed person in a restaurant or bar, how would you feel knowing that strangers who are armed surrounded you? Most likely you would feel some sort of discomfort. If a fight broke out and everyone started pulling out their guns, what would you do? You would be the most vulnerable person there with no way to defend yourself.
The ability to carry concealed weapons is not as safe as it has been cracked up to be.
Bloomberg-Backed Gun Safety Group Visualizes The Numbers On Gun Violence
Check out the full article here!
Domestic Murder Rates Lower in States that Require Background Checks for Guns
Abi Croll
Hi! My name is Abi Croll, and I am currently a Junior studying Communication at the University of Maryland. I will be working on this blog for my Digital Media and Democracy class. On this blog, my group members and I will be discussing the topic of gun control throughout the next few weeks. There have been too many mass shootings in my lifetime. From the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, to the shooting to the shooting at Pulse Night Club in Orlando just this year; there are so many innocent lives that have been taken and so many families that have been impacted by gun violence. My heart really goes out to them. In this blog, we will be discussing several ways that we believe gun control can be achieved to lower the number of these devastating massacres that have been occurring in our country.
Gun Control is Out of Control 