The Effects Of
Non-Discriminatory
CCW Issuance

Compiled and editor's prefix by Jim March

NEW ITEM 5/22/02: Roanoke Times (Virginia) 5/19/2002
NEW ITEM 5/22/02: Sunday Standard-Examiner (Utah) 5/19/2002

So what happens if we manage to reform CCW, and eliminate the "discretion" that's being wildly abused in racist, elitist, corrupt ways?

Is letting "just anybody" legally carry who's able to pass a background check, training and fingerprinting a good idea?

There are now 32 states with "shall-issue" CCW systems of exactly that sort, plus Vermont where no prior permission to legally carry is needed.  In these 33 states, small drops in crime have been noted by several researchers, but more importantly there's been NO reported problems with the system.  In each case, the people willing to jump through hoops to legally do something any moronic thug can (and does) daily, hiding a gun on one's person, aren't the people anybody has to worry about.

This "armed and harmless" trend always seems to take anti-gunners by surprise, and after each state's conversion amazed news reporters write about the conspicuous absence of any "OK Corral Syndrome".

Michigan is the latest convert state, abandoning their old discretionary system dating to 1927, mid-way through 2001.

What follows is three recent Michigan news reports, all with a very similar "tone".  For contrast, I've included a report from Colorado by a major news outlet (PBS's "Newshour With Jim Lehrer") on Colorado's discretionary system and how vague and paranoid the fears expressed are without any actual evidence of danger - you can just hear the sheeple plaintively bleating.

Anti-gun sources site these non-rational fears as a good reason to restrict gun rights.  By that logic, white "fears" in the 1950's should have been good reason to prevent the Civil Rights Movement from ever happening.  Lunacy.

Traverse City Record-Eagle (Michigan)
April 7, 2002
Gun law spurs no violence - No problems arising from concealed weapons permits
By PATRICK SULLIVAN
Original URL: http://www.record-eagle.com/2002/apr/07guns.htm

Detroit News (Michigan)
March 21, 2002
Gun permits surge, but not violence
Oakland County issues more than any county; licenses up 39 percent statewide
By John Bebow and George Hunter; photos by David Coates and Daniel Mears, all Detroit News staff
Original URL: http://detnews.com/2002/metro/0203/22/a01-445943.htm

Detroit Free Press (Michigan)
January 2, 2002
CCW law fares well so far
Officials satisfied with controversial gun permits
By DAWSON BELL - FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU
Original URL: http://www.freep.com/news/mich/ccw2_20020102.htm

PBS Newshour With Jim Lehrer
September 4 , 2000
CONCEALED WEAPONS
By Lee Hochberg
Original URL: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june00/guns.html

Roanoke Times (Virginia) NEW ITEM 5/22/02
May 19, 2002
Pistol-packing and proud of it
By TAD DICKENS
Original URL: http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story130723.html

Sunday Standard-Examiner (Utah) NEW ITEM 5/22/02
May 19, 2002
Do concealed weapons laws make Utah safer?
Crime has dropped, but officials not sure of connection
By BOB WARD
Original URL: http://www.standard.net/standard/news/news_story.html?sid=00020518231034966759

Traverse City Record-Eagle
April 7, 2002
Gun law spurs no violence - No problems arising from concealed weapons permits
By PATRICK SULLIVAN
Original URL: http://www.record-eagle.com/2002/apr/07guns.htm

      TRAVERSE CITY - Nine months after a state law that allows most people over the age of 21 to qualify for a concealed weapons permit, worries that gun violence would soar have not materialized and few glitches in the law have been reported.

      "It's obvious that people aren't shooting each other over traffic disputes, there's no blood in the street," said David Bieganowski, a Traverse City lawyer and chapter president of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners.

      Michigan law was changed July 1, 2001, to allow citizens over 21 to receive a concealed weapons permit if they have completed a gun safety course unless they have been convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors or have a history of mental illness.

      Bieganowski, who is also a National Rifle Association certified firearms instructor and teaches the legal section of the gun safety course at several sportsman's clubs, said the biggest complaint he has heard is from people who have been denied permits because they have been cited for driving with an expired license plate.

      Because the law bars anyone with certain misdemeanors within the past eight years or any misdemeanor within the past three years from getting a permit, a violation for driving with an expired plate, a misdemeanor in Michigan, forces gun boards to deny permits.

      Department of Natural Resources fishing violations can also cause an applicant a three-year delay in obtaining a permit.

      "I'm sure it was an unintended consequence," Bieganowski said. "They call me and I tell them to call their state representative because I can't do anything about it."

      The overwhelming majority of people who apply for permits are granted them, according to records kept by the Michigan State Police and county clerks.

      In Grand Traverse County, 454 people have applied. Of those, five have been denied, 352 have been approved, and 97 are pending. Across northwest Lower Michigan, 2,273 people have applied, 14 have been denied, 1,798 have been approved and 461 are pending.

      Across the region, just over 10 percent of the applicants are women. Of the 1,798 permits approved, 182 went to women.

      The level of interest shown by women prompted Bieganowski to hold a "women-only" concealed weapon training course at the Cedar Rod & Gun Club in June. The class, announced last month, has already almost filled.

      "Women seem to light up a bit when they hear 'women-only,' " Bieganowski said.

      Many of the women who have already attended Bieganowski's classes are wives of men who own handguns. Women are more likely to want a concealed weapon permit for the purpose of personal protection than men, he said.

      "I'm sure the reasons are different and self-protection is the No. 1 reason for women, some men get them just out of principal," he said.

      No shootings in northern Michigan have been connected to concealed weapon permit holders.

      Wilson Brott, a lawyer who has also provided legal training for applicants, said the requirements to get a permit are meant to discourage violence.

      "What we try to do is make sure people are real wary of even pulling out your firearm," Brott said.

      The law also more severely restricts where people can carry a concealed weapon. Forbidden areas include bars, schools, churches, day care centers, hospitals and sports arenas.

      Missaukee County's gun board began issuing permits under the new law months before it took effect and they have seen no problems with permit holders, Missaukee Sheriff James Bosscher said.

      "Some people want them for traveling, some people want to carry, some people want them just because it's their right," Bosscher said.

      Patrick Sullivan is the reporter for crime, courts and public safety. He can be reached at (231) 933-1478, or at psullivan@record-eagle.com

Detroit News
March 21, 2002
Gun permits surge, but not violence
Oakland County issues more than any county; licenses up 39 percent statewide
By John Bebow and George Hunter; photos by David Coates and Daniel Mears, all Detroit News staff
Original URL: http://detnews.com/2002/metro/0203/22/a01-445943.htm

(Pic) Michigan State Police Lt. Eric Wimbley, left, and Jim Byrd process applications in Wayne County for concealed weapons.

WATERFORD -- The only place Cliff Dabrowski has pulled his new 9mm Glock is the shooting range, but he keeps it in a shoulder holster he wears every day to protect his wife and young son.

   "The police are doing a good job, but there's just too much going on," the computer programer said, explaining why he applied for a concealed gun permit. "It's the opportunity to take care of myself and my family."

   Dabrowski, 38, of Waterford is one of an average of 88 people a day who've gained licenses to carry concealed weapons in Michigan since the law was relaxed July 1. While applications have been brisk since then, not as many have been submitted as some expected. And law enforcement officials say the law has caused no surge in gun violence, mishaps or vigilante justice.

   Concealed weapons permits are up 39 percent statewide in the past 8 1/2 months -- from 58,280 to 81,033, according to state police records.

   Another 12,666 applications are pending, and most will likely be approved soon by local gun boards.

   Oakland County residents are pursuing permits in higher numbers than any other county in the state. Oakland has issued 4,666 permits under the new law and another 1,600 are pending. By comparison, the county issued 3,614 permits in the 18 months leading up to last year's law change.

   "I would've expected a whole lot more than that given all the hoopla," said Michael Hodge, an attorney for a group that last year lost a court fight opposing the new law.

   As expected -- and intended -- it's easy to get a permit under the new law. Of the nearly 50,000 applications filed statewide since July 1, 74 percent have been approved, 25 percent are pending and only 1 percent have been denied.

   As the law nears its first anniversary, the majority of Michiganians favor it. A new Detroit News poll shows 58 percent support the law; 38 percent don't. Following the trend in new CCW applications, men favor the law more than women do, according to the poll.

   It looks like the law will be on the books indefinitely: Money to fight it dried up after the state Supreme Court last summer blocked a first attempt to force a statewide vote. And plans for a ballot initiative this fall are off, said Carolynne Jarvis, executive director of the Michigan Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence.

   "You simply cannot do these things without money," she said.

Good for business

   The new law, which requires applicants to take a gun safety course, has been great for Metro Detroit gun dealers and shooting ranges.

   "Business has been very good," said Tom Potapa, a worker at Peters Indoor Range and Gun Shop in Roseville. The range's 10 shooting stalls are booked every weekend, mostly with instructors preparing gun owners for concealed weapons permits, he said.

   Mike Carson, executive director of Brass Roots, a pro-gun organization, said a lot of people in this first wave of new CCW applicants waited for years for the opportunity.

   "I attended Oakland County gun board meetings (before the law change), and they would turn a lot of people down," Carson said. "I expect you'll see more women and other demographic groups applying over the long haul. But what you're seeing now is the people who were anxious to get their CCW were the first ones in line after the law passed."

   So far, that broad demographic range that Carson predicts hasn't materialized. Statistics collected by the Michigan State Police show the overwhelming majority of applicants are white males. More people in their 40s have applied than in any other age group; few young people are applying. Only 3 percent of applicants are 25 or younger.

   Neva LaRue of North Branch is among the 10 percent of applicants who are women. She drives to Royal Oak each Tuesday to participate in a women's gun group sponsored by the Michigan Coalition For Responsible Gun Owners.

   "For me, protecting myself is a big issue," said LaRue, who twice was turned down for a CCW permit before the law passed, and has a pending application now. "I've been assaulted twice by the same man. I don't want to get hurt again. I don't want to get dragged out of my car again -- and I don't want to see other women have to go through that, either. So I'm really active in trying to get women involved in defending themselves."

   Such self-defense has not yet resulted in any kind of wave of new gun violence among those with fresh CCW permits, several law enforcement officials throughout Metro Detroit agreed.

   "That's really the surprise," said Wayne County Sheriff Robert Ficano. "There are no altercations or incidents I've seen that are at all attributable to the law change. We thought there might be some."

Fear on streets

  Still, more guns on the street makes many people uneasy.

   "Being able to carry a gun might be good for some people's sense of security, but I'm not sure they'll be able to deal with conflict properly if they have a gun," said Detroiter Jeffrey Knight. "With people getting laid off, and all the stresses people are facing now, you've got a lot of people on edge; I'm not sure adding guns to that mix is a good thing."

   Members of local gun boards acknowledge they are concerned that the statute gives them little leeway in denying applications.

   The old law limited permits to those who could demonstrate a clear need. The new law grants permits to anyone 21 or older with no felony convictions or history of mental illness.

   The law allows different counties to take some different approaches. In Macomb County -- which had a fairly liberal approach to gun permits before the new law was enacted -- almost all first-time CCW applicants go through a brief, face-to-face interview. In Oakland County, the gun board relies almost entirely on applicants' paperwork.

   The biggest concern, some gun board members say, is assessing applicants' mental health. The new law empowers gun boards to deny applicants with a history of mental illness, but private mental health records are very difficult to obtain.

   "We're relying on applicants to tell the truth," said Capt. Michael McCabe, chief of operations for the Oakland County Sheriff's Department.

   "Obviously, there are probably going to be some people who aren't going to tell the truth. It's an uncomfortable feeling."

   And yet, it's also uncomfortable to be an empty-handed chance witness to crime.

   Auburn Hills computer technician Steven Kreft safely thwarted two violent crimes near his Auburn Hills home in recent years. He once jumped from behind a Twinkie rack to scare off an armed party store burglar. And he turned his car around and made a ruckus to chase away a man who jumped out of a woods and grabbed a woman jogger.

   So when the state made it easier for everyday citizens to get concealed weapons permits, Kreft quickly prepared for more chance encounters. He now carries a Kel-Tek .32 semiautomatic.

   "I realized I'm responsible for my own safety," Kreft said. "It's not that I'm going to go around shooting anyone -- in fact, I think I would walk away from an incident more quickly now because I have a gun. But having a gun gives me another option."

(Pic above) Terrie Germain, left, and Neva LaRue
participate in a gun-safety clinic at Target Sports in Royal Oak.

SIDEBAR ARTICLE:

(Pic) Steven Kreft is prepared for chance encounters with crime. He carries a Kel-Tek .32 semiautomatic.

Gun permit law
   * County gun boards can issue three-year permits to carry a concealed weapon as long as applicants are at least 21.
   * If they deny a permit, gun board members have to explain why.
   * Applicants cannot be convicted of a felony or selected misdemeanors or have a history of mental illness.
   * Applicants must successfully complete a firearms safety course before receiving a permit.
   * Concealed firearms are banned from schools, day care centers, college campuses, hospitals, casinos, bars, churches, sports arenas and stadiums.

Concealed weapons
Nearly 50,000 people have sought concealed gun permits in Michigan since July when a new law made it easier to obtain a permit.
   * 90 percent of applicants were men.
   * 94 percent of applicants were white; 6 percent black.
   * People in their 40s requested more than any other age bracket.
   * Oakland County had the most applications -- 6,355.
   * Barry County, north of Battle Creek, had the most applications per capita -- 1 for every 18 residents.
   * Houghton County, in the Upper Peninsula, had the fewest per capita -- 1 for every 621 residents.
   Source: Michigan State Police

Detroit News Staff Writer Craig Garrett contributed to this report. You can reach John Bebow at (313) 222-2548 or jbebow@detnews.com.

Detroit Free Press
January 2, 2002
CCW law fares well so far
Officials satisfied with controversial gun permits
By DAWSON BELL - FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU
Original URL: http://www.freep.com/news/mich/ccw2_20020102.htm

LANSING -- With Oakland County leading the pack, Michigan counties have issued more than 21,000 licenses to carry concealed weapons under a controversial new law that went into effect July 1.

Another 14,613 applications were pending by mid-December, according to State Police records.

Seven licenses were revoked or suspended during that period, but only one for misbehavior involving a firearm, and none involved a shooting.

Representatives of several law enforcement agencies contacted by the Free Press said they had been pleasantly surprised by the CCW experience so far.

Opponents of the law said it is too soon to measure long-term consequences.

The law requires county gun boards to issue CCW licenses to most adults who pass a gun safety course and have no criminal record. It went into effect after the Michigan Supreme Court disqualified a petition drive aimed at suspending the law and placing the issue before state voters in 2002.

Ross Dykman, director of the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, said: "We're pretty pleased with the way it's working. There have been some delays. But there haven't been any serious problems."

Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III, who chaired the group that tried to block the law, remains skeptical.

"I certainly believe that the vast number of people getting these permits do not pose a threat," he said. But county gun boards can't adequately screen all applicants, "and there are going to be tragedies," Dunnings predicted.

Oakland County has had the most applications (4,601), and issued the most licenses (2,334) to date. Genesee has issued the second highest number (1,520), with Kent (1,036) the only other county to top 1,000.

Wayne County has had 3,700 applications and issued 595 licenses.

Before the law was changed by the Legislature in December 2000, county gun boards had the discretion to deny a license for any or no reason. Under the old system, there were about 24,000 CCW licensees in Michigan, about half in Macomb County. For 10 years, Macomb has had a policy similar to the new state law.

State Police officials predicted that as many as 150,000 state residents would seek CCW licenses.

But Dykman said that estimate was based on experience in other states, many of which do not have as rigorous requirements for applicants.

Under the new law, a handful of licenses have been revoked or suspended in counties around the state, law enforcement officials said. Most were for reasons unrelated to the use of a weapon, several when licensees were stopped for driving under the influence of alcohol and found to be in possession of a weapon.

In Ogemaw County, a 61-year-old man was charged with felonious assault in October after he drew his weapon during a traffic altercation. No shots were fired. He pleaded guilty and his license was revoked, authorities said.

While untoward incidents have been rare, so have reports of defensive uses of a weapon by a CCW licensee. Backers of the new law predicted that it would save lives as armed citizens warded off attackers.

Those kinds of incidents are not compiled by the State Police under the new law. Dykman said he has heard scattered reports about licensees who have fended off burglars or robbers in their homes or businesses, but none in which it was clear that the ability to legally carry a weapon had saved someone from becoming a crime victim.

The State Police will compile a complete report on incidents involving CCW licensing after the law has been in effect for a full year.

Contact DAWSON BELL at 313-222-6609 or dbell@freepress.com. Special writer Kirstie Reed contributed to this report.

PBS Newshour With Jim Lehrer
September 4 , 2000
CONCEALED WEAPONS
By Lee Hochberg
Original URL: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june00/guns.html

Three-million Americans carry concealed weapons these days. Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Television reports.

LEE HOCHBERG: Walking the streets of an American city like Fort Collins, Colorado, it's hard to know who's carrying a gun.

DENNIS POLLOCK, Street Vendor: It is kind of scary to think that anybody could be walking up and have a concealed weapon, and run into a situation, they pull out a gun, and you didn't even know they had it.

LEE HOCHBERG: Do you carry a gun?

ROD ROCKEFELLER, Gun Owner: I have, yes.

LEE HOCHBERG: A concealed weapon?

ROD ROCKEFELLER: Yes. I've got a permit.

LEE HOCHBERG: Do you carry it out on the street here?

ROD ROCKEFELLER: I have, yeah. There's a concern of mine for myself and for my family.

LEE HOCHBERG: Three million Americans carry concealed weapons. Ten years ago, it was allowed only in a few states, but now 31 states permit gun owners to carry a hidden firearm if they have no felony record. In 12 other states, like Colorado, there's no state right to carry, but local law enforcement officials can extend the privilege. With more guns than ever on the street, some say the public should be told who's carrying one.

SPOKESMAN: Yeah, guns are a big deal here, so there are a lot of people that have a lot to do with guns.

LEE HOCHBERG: The editor of the "Fort Collins Coloradoan" recently published the names of more than 600 Larimer County residents who have concealed weapons permits. Dave Greiling says he printed the list because in this middle class college town north of Denver, it's a public safety issue.

DAVE GREILING: There is concern among some members of the community as to, does my next-door-neighbor have a concealed weapon; does the person that I had a rift or an argument with at work, does he or she have the right to carry a concealed weapon?

LEE HOCHBERG: The newspaper fueled a debate between those, who agree concealed weapons are a safety issue, and some gun owners, who say the fact that they carry a hidden gun should be private.

SPOKESMAN: This gun I have carried in my back pocket for, I'd say, literally thousands of hours. You're walking through a back alley at night, you're familiar with the machine, and you learn to shoot fast, learn to shoot good. (Gunshots firing)

LEE HOCHBERG: John Swets was angry when his name appeared in the newspaper. Swets regularly practices marksmanship with his Smith and Wesson kit gun, firing from his backyard deck across the Cache La Poudre River.

JOHN SWETS: See, I'm hitting right at the end of that stick right there in the sand bank?

LEE HOCHBERG: He says he needs to carry his gun on the streets of Fort Collins.

JOHN SWETS: There are times when the wife and I are dressed up for a social event or something like that, and she has some rather valuable jewelry with her. And as the insurance company says, we're a target. Just the mere presence of a weapon will eliminate the "problem" oftentimes.

LEE HOCHBERG: But Swets says his weapon is hardly concealed anymore, since the newspaper showed the community he may be carrying it.

JOHN SWETS: These people have a responsibility, yes, to the people who read the newspapers. They also have a responsibility to those of us who wish to keep a low profile. You're asking for privacy when you can get a concealed weapons permit, and this privacy is being violated when you have your name printed in the paper.

LEE HOCHBERG: Editor Greiling says his readers are unsympathetic to that case.

DAVE GREILING: For every call that we've gotten from people saying, well, my name's on the list, and you've invaded my privacy, we've had counterbalancing calls from people saying, I didn't know that so and so had the right to do this, I'm glad I did. It's going to affect the way I interact with that individual.

LEE HOCHBERG: What separates people like Swets from those who favor publication is the fervent belief that concealed weapons make life safer. Gun carriers cite a University of Chicago study that found from 1977 to '92 in states allowing concealed handguns, murders fell by 8%. Critics say the study was flawed; that crime declined for other reasons. But it convinced Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden.

JIM ALDERDEN: There is no public safety endangerment by issuing concealed weapons permits. My gut feeling was that this was irresponsible, and that it was driven by a motivation to make some headlines.

LEE HOCHBERG: As if in the Old West, Alderden rode into the sheriff's office on horseback a year ago January. He'd been elected after a campaign, partially funded by the NRA, that promised easier access to concealed weapons permits. Once in office, flanked by cardboard cutouts of John Wayne, he approved more than 600 permits in his first year-- 15 times the number his predecessor issued in eight years.

JIM ALDERDEN: People who apply for concealed weapons permits are law-abiding, honest citizens, and they're willing to take the risk to help their neighbor, should that become necessary. So in that aspect, I think our community is safer.

SPOKESMAN: I understand what the guy is saying, but I think it's baloney.

LEE HOCHBERG: The man Alderden defeated says the new permits don't make Fort Collins safer, and permit holders' names should be published. Richard Shockley issued only 40 permits in eight years, demanding applicants show compelling need to carry a hidden weapon.

RICHARD SHOCKLEY: Everybody in the world doesn't need to have one. If some outsider is threatening you or a member of your family with some type of physical violence, that's a compelling need. But just because you tell me, "I'm afraid"... Well, what are you afraid of? "Well, I'm afraid of life." That wasn't sufficient enough for me to give you a concealed weapons permit.

LEE HOCHBERG: When Shockley was sheriff, a Denver TV station asked him for the names of those who he'd given permits. He refused, citing their unique need for privacy. A court forced him to release the names of those the judge felt had no such need. Shockley says since the new sheriff isn't considering need before issuing permits, the media ought to examine who's getting them. After Florida legalized concealed weapons, a St. Petersburg newspaper found 94 new permit holders had arrest records. The "Coloradoan" found no such irregularities among Colorado's new permit holders.

KEN CHLOUBER: Newspapers, what are you doing this for? What are you getting out of publishing somebody's name that's obeyed the law?

LEE HOCHBERG: Conservative lawmakers like Ken Chlouber say the media wants to trample gun rights in a rural state where having guns has never been a big deal.

KEN CHLOUBER: It just says, well, you know, Joe here, he's got a permit to carry a concealed weapon, so you better watch out for him. Well, that's just foolish. That just cornbread country nonsense. Come on.

LEE HOCHBERG: Chlouber raises burros in the Rocky Mountain mining town of Leadville, 150 miles and an era removed from Fort Collins. He spearheaded a bill to ban Colorado newspapers from publishing weapon holders' names.

LEE HOCHBERG: You did sponsor a bill that would infringe on the First Amendment.

KEN CHLOUBER: Yeah. They're infringing on my Second Amendment. I think that's fair.

LEE HOCHBERG: Chlouber says despite gun violence and gun fears in larger cities, Americans must protect their privacy rights.

KEN CHLOUBER: I do think perhaps if you're living in town, maybe you get that sort of a whiny, wet-diaper attitude that somebody ought to take care of you all the time. We live different out here. Somebody comes in my house, to my family, I've got to be able-- or my wife-- somebody's got to be able to defend themselves.

LEE HOCHBERG: Chlouber's bill passed the Colorado legislature, but Republican Governor Bill Owens vetoed it. He argued: "Disclosure of permit information might be warranted. This bill violates the spirit of an open and accountable government." But Colorado lawmakers are set to retry the legislation next year. Editor Greiling promises to keep publishing names, responded to what he says is an overriding public safety need in his community.

(Ed. Note by Jim March: this is a GOOD one - describes a rural county with the highest adult CCW ratio I've ever heard of, 12% - and NO resulting violence, to the dismay of local grabbers!)

Picture by Stephanie Klein-Davis/The Roanoke Times

"My guardian angel" is how Brenda Coulter refers to the .32-caliber Smith & Wesson that she carries. Coulter, a recent transplant to Craig County and the daughter of a Northern Virginia gun dealer, is just one of many Craig County residents who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

'Good quality citizens are getting them. They're not getting in trouble'
Pistol-packing and proud of it

Craig County's rate of concealed gun permits is the highest in Virginia.

On a near-perfect spring day, Brenda Coulter walks along a gravel road near a country church in rural Craig County.

    You would think that no one was around for miles. There certainly are no cars moving nearby. The noise out here comes mostly in the form of chirps and tweets from birds and bugs.

    And Coulter feels quite safe. Not simply because of the relative peace around her, but because of the piece she has hidden away in her fanny pack. It's a loaded .32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, light and deadly.

    "I've got my guardian angel with me," said Coulter, 41.

    And she, like at least 460 other Craig County residents 21 and older, has a permit for it. That may not sound like a lot, but combine it with the state's second-smallest population, and you have a county with the highest rate of concealed gun permit holders in the state, according to state police and census figures.

    In Virginia, 3.3 percent of more than 5 million people at least 21 years old have received the permits to carry hidden guns anywhere in the state since lawmakers loosened restrictions on the permits in 1995. In Craig County, more than 12 percent of the adult residents of the relatively crime-free locality have the licenses.

    By contrast, in much larger, felony-troubled Richmond, 1.8 percent of people 21 and older may stow a gun out of sight. In Roanoke, 1.3 percent of adults who are at least 21 have permits.

    Only Amelia and Surry counties to the east, also rural and lightly populated, come close to Craig, according to the police and census numbers.

    Craig County Commonwealth's Attorney Thad Cox said he worried that after the law changed, he would have to prosecute a rash of shootings. He was wrong, though, and pleasantly surprised about it, he said.

    "That says a lot about the character of people who live here," said Cox, who as a prosecutor has had his permit for about 20 years. "Good quality citizens are getting them. They're not getting in trouble."

    Recent Craig County transplants, such as Coulter, and longtime residents may share permits in common, but many in Craig say that even with the permits, they don't make a habit of carrying around hidden weapons. It's just that in a culture centered on hunting and guns, getting a concealed carry permit is just something you do, many say.

    "I guess because it's rural - good hunting territory over here, and good hunters - it's something you grow up with, I guess," said G.D. Fuller as he sat with friends drinking coffee and Cokes and chewing plug tobacco around the stove at the Hunter's Den, a gun and supply shop just outside New Castle.

    But it's not all about hometown tradition. Some say they were influenced to seek the permits after watching a National Rifle Association program detailing what it said were attempts by governments to take citizens' guns.

    "Why not get one now, before I'm unable to get one?" said Penny Stebar , 34.

    Even that response is tempered with a claim to the local hunting culture. Stebar said that her father, grandfather and husband hunt. She used to, but gave it up to raise her children, one of whom has already begun hunting. Her second is getting old enough to start and is excited about the prospect.

    "Not that we're obsessed with guns," Stebar said. "We just grew up around them."

    Statewide, rural counties dominate the list of permit holders. Only one county of more than 20,000 residents - Henry County, with some 57,000 - is among the top 10. Martinsville, which is surrounded by Henry County, is the only city among the top 25. Portsmouth is the only other city in the top 50.

    Suburban Fairfax County, the state's largest, is near the bottom with 1.6 percent. Nor do other Washington suburban counties have large concentrations of permit holders.

    Kristi Hoffman, an assistant professor of sociology at Roanoke College, said studies show that rural Southern localities, particularly ones with mostly white populations, are more likely to have guns, and residents are more likely to be concealed gun permit holders. The fact that so many permit holders live in areas with low crime rates makes little difference in the equation.

    "They certainly haven't had a crime wave in Craig County," Hoffman said.

    Inner cities, despite often staggering crime rates, have the lowest rates of concealed carry permits, she said.

    Concealed gun proponents argue that hidden guns will deter crime. But Hoffman said poverty rates, employment levels and other social factors are more important.

    "Part of the argument is deterrence," she said. "I think those claims are somewhat exaggerated."

    Pocket protector

    Stebar, whose family is full of hunters, doesn't own a pistol. She said she used to carry a 9 mm pistol her husband owned, but he sold it. When she needs one, she just borrows it - like the time she went Christmas shopping with her mother at Valley View Mall in Roanoke.

    The mall has a no-weapons policy that was recently the center of debate after a gun-rights group filled mall management's e-mail in boxes with protests about the years-old ban. But Stebar had no idea about any of that, nor did she see the obscure notice about the rule, near the bottom of an entrance sign, on the day she walked in, she said.

    She carried a borrowed snub-nose .38-caliber pistol in her pocket that day. She didn't need to use it, but just having it made her feel more confident, she said.

    "You just never know, especially with two women out," Stebar said. "People are just too crazy. Over here, it's just so laid-back."

    Coulter, married with two stepchildren, is not so sure about that. The daughter of a Northern Virginia gun dealer, she said she learned early not to trust too much, whether in bucolic Craig County or bustling Washington.

    "Even living out here, you're not safe anywhere," she said. "I've heard stories. I read."

    Even so, that fanny pack seems a little slow to open. Coulter said she realizes she might not be the quickest on the draw.

    "Wait a minute," she said, joking as she slowly unzipped the pack. "I promise I'm going to shoot you."

    Lots of Craig residents say they need to pocket a pistol on their properties for the snakes, coyotes and other varmints they might run into. Helms Hardware & Auto Parts owner Curtis Helms anticipates something else he might have to shoot.

    Twenty-five years ago, burglars hit Helms' store twice in three months, costing him about 40 televisions, several appliances, $2,000 from his safe and dozens of guns. After that, he got a burglar alarm, and he started keeping a gun with him. A few years back, after the General Assembly made it easier for people to get concealed gun permits, he got one.

    "The main reason I got a permit is I wanted to be legal, being in business and all, if I ever had a reason," Helms said.

    He hasn't. Helms doesn't even carry his gun around in the store. But on trips out of town, he always makes sure he leaves heavy.

    "I've tried to stay away from trouble, but if it came up, I think I could do it," he said. "You know what I mean?"

    Matter of principle

    The NRA video, featuring stories about people and communities that the organization said lost their gun ownership rights, got a lot of people stirred up, said Stebar, as well as others who declined to comment on the record.

    "That's all you heard people talking about for a long time," she said.

    Still, she and the others said they realize that there is no significant movement in gun-friendly Virginia to take away the state's loosened concealed carry laws. No one should even try, she said.

    "The people here would not give up their guns," she said.

    Such fears have been exaggerated, said Hoffman, the Roanoke College sociologist. Recently, the Bush administration informed the Supreme Court that it believes the U.S. Constitution gives individuals the right to possess guns - an interpretation that reverses four decades of government policy.

    But NRA membership is high in rural counties such as Craig, and residents there are more exposed to that organization's push to protect what they say are their rights to carry a weapon, she said.

    "I don't think that people need to fear their guns are going to be taken away," Hoffman said. "Both locally and at the national level, gun control is essentially on hold."

    Just for fun

    The Hunter's Den is the social center for Craig County people who love firearms and chasing after wild deer and turkey. No one there is shy about discussing guns, concealed or not. Fuller, 75, who was squirrel hunting at 10, said he never has a gun hidden on his person. But he said he always carries a couple of pistols in his pickup truck, in the box they were shipped in. He uses them for target practice.

    "I'll shoot a pop bottle or paper or whatever," he said. With the concealed carry permit, he doesn't have to worry about the fact that they're usually hidden.

    Any conversation about concealed guns in Craig usually winds around to the bigger subjects - culture and education - which residents say dwarf the concealed carry issue.

    Craig County sheriff's Deputy Ike Craft is a longtime hunter, though he's better known for his archery expertise. Craft said he remembers that his school bus driver back in the 1960s had a single-barrel Winchester propped up by the bus door during deer season. Once the kids were off the bus, the driver was off to hunt until class let out, he said.

    "The kids never thought nothing about it," Craft said. Many spent their free time hunting, too.

    He and his peers learned respect for guns and knew better than to take chances with something so dangerous, he said.

    Craig County's concealed carry permit holders express confidence in their knowledge of and ability to handle firearms, and say they're passing those values down to their children. Stebar and Coulter, both mothers of two, said their children have an abiding respect for guns.

    "They realize it's not a toy," Stebar said. "It kills."

    Computer-assisted reporting coordinator Ray Reed contributed to this report.

[Ed. Note by Jim March: this is going to need a partial rebuttal to some comments by Prof. Wadman - see notes clearly marked as mine at the end of this article.]

Photo by BRIAN NICHOLSON/Standard-Examiner
Shane Olsen loads a revolver during a self-defense class at the Cache Valley Hunter Education Center in Logan.

Do concealed weapons laws make Utah safer?
Crime has dropped, but officials not sure of connection

By BOB WARD
Standard-Examiner Capitol Bureau

SALT LAKE CITY -- More than 44,000 people are permitted to carry concealed weapons in Utah.

Some say that makes everybody safer by helping cops stop bad guys. Others, however, question whether the benefits outweigh the risks.

The jury is still out on the issue.

But stories abound about concealed weapons holders who have sent would-be thieves and carjackers running by simply placing a handgun on the dashboard or pulling it from a holster.

Roland "Rocky" Raab of Ogden is one of those with a story. He has carried a gun ever since Utah liberalized its concealed-carry law in the mid-1990s. Since then, he said, he"s been targeted twice by apparent carjackers, who ran away when he displayed it.

"The police are excellent, but they can"t be there all the time," he said. "I look at it like wearing a seat belt."

Unfortunately such incidents, or non-incidents are impossible to record statistically.

Robert Wadman, Weber State criminal justice professor and former Omaha, Neb., police chief, said he will accept that most concealed-carry permittees are mature and honest people who are simply taking responsibility for their own safety.

What concerns him, he said, is the likelihood of accidents.

Most Americans buy guns to protect themselves from strangers, but far more often, the weapons end up hurting or killing someone in the family, he said.

"Six times to one, a firearm is going to be used against a family member, rather than being used to protect against an intruder," he said.

Wadman is a gun owner and Second Amendment supporter himself, but said he is still suspicious of what he calls "38-caliber manhood." He believes the government should foster better training and more responsible gun ownership.

"We kill or injure over 30,000 people with firearms in the United States, many of them suicides," he said. "That readily available firearm is part of the problem."

Researchers in other states have claimed a relationship between dropping crime rates and increasing numbers of concealed-carry permits. And, overall, crime has dropped in Utah since the mid-1990s, when the state"s concealed-carry law was liberalized to allow virtually anyone over 21 to obtain a permit.

But without any definitive research state officials aren"t willing to say whether or not the concealed-carry rules have played a role.

"A lot of officers think a person with a concealed weapon is more of a hazard than a safeguard because they don"t have an abundance of training," said Craig Dearden, former director of the Utah Department of Public Safety and currently chief of the Weber State University police department.

Tens of thousands of firearm suicides and accidental shootings occur every year, and many Americans are increasingly unnerved by the idea of ordinary people packing heat in public, he said.

"But others think if someone out there can pull a gun and make somebody think twice about committing a crime, then that"s a good thing."

While no training is required to own a firearm, a person must pass a background check in order to buy a gun from a licensed dealer, and an approved "firearms familiarity course" is required for the concealed privilege.

With such a permit, gun holders may take their guns almost anywhere except airports, courthouses and certain other government buildings.

The law, however, is vague about the substance of the concealed weapons course, Dearden said.

"I"ve heard of some concealed-carry classes lasting 35 minutes and others lasting three and a half hours."

But while some people think it"s bad public policy to grant concealed-carry permits without ensuring the permittee understands applicable law and can properly handle a firearm, others say more requirements would only complicate the system and discourage people from exercising their constitutional right to bear arms.

"I don"t think eight hours is an excessive class, but I don"t know where to draw the line and say it"s required," said Weber County Sheriff"s Lt. Doug Coleman. He teaches a detailed eight-hour concealed-carry class, which includes a session of range shooting. Still, he said, it may be "silly" to require all permit-holders to take such a class.

"People who are going to misuse firearms are going to do it with or without a concealed weapons permit," he said.

Coleman said he discourages Hollywood vigilante behavior among his pupils, and reminds them that "there are attorneys lined up 50-deep to sue" those who mess up. He said some permittees are bound to use their guns irresponsibly, but feels that"s an inherent risk of life in a free society.

About 60 percent of Coleman"s pupils are mature adults, 55 or older, whom, he said "aren"t prone to hot-headedness. These people, he said, bought guns because they feel vulnerable." Most of the remainder of his students are in their mid-30s to 50s, with "virtually none" in their 20s, he said.

Concealed weapons permittees depict themselves publicly as law-abiding Americans, and generally the statistics support that image. During the fourth quarter of 2001, the most recent quarter for which numbers are available, the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification issued 2,291 permits and revoked 40 permits.

A third of the revocations were for alcohol violations, but nearly as many arose from protective orders against the permittee. There were also five revocations for felonies and three for domestic violence. In all of 2001, 184 concealed gun permits were revoked.

Concealed-carry permittees, meanwhile, acknowledge they"re not perfect, but say they dislike being painted as "wanna-be Rambos."

There"s no typical profile for a concealed weapon carrier, but instructors say many of their pupils are business owners who often carry large amounts of money and don"t want to get ripped off. Others are crime victims, or harassed divorcees wanting some additional protection.

What most appear to share is a desire for more control over their personal or family safety. And for many older Utahns, owning a concealed weapon is a natural outgrowth of an upbringing around guns.

"When I was a boy, we had a shotgun behind the door -- loaded," said Kendall Pierce, a certified concealed-carry instructor from Ogden.

"All the neighbor kids were raised with guns. It"s just a matter of education."

Pierce acknowledges, however, that times have changed and many modern-day youths learn more about guns from television and video games than they do from their parents. The culture doesn"t promote responsible gun ownership, and that concerns him.

He doesn"t, however, see more laws as a solution -- especially laws affecting concealed weapons.

"I think it"s plenty good the way it is," he said. "For all the concealed weapons permits in Utah, there are very few accidental discharges."

A rebuttal to Wadman by Jim March:

First point: notice how there's no actual problems caused by the CCW rules.  Wadman is hypothesizing based on his biases but he has no evidence.

Second: blaming guns for suicide is a favorite grabber trick.  It's horsecrap.  Both Japan and Britain have handgun ownership rates only a fraction of the US rates, and suicide rates double ours.  Canada experimented with draconian juvenile access laws, and did indeed manage to slightly affect youth firearm suicide rates, which the grabbers widely trumpeted - but they didn't bother to mention that overall juvenile suicide ratess were flat. Take the guns away, and they'll jump off a cliff or something - not a real big help.  See also "Statistical Malpractice – 'Firearms Availability' and Violence" by Miguel A. Faria Jr., M.D. and "Homicide and Suicide Rates Associated With Implementation of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act", Journal of the American Medical Association, by Jens Ludwig, PhD; Philip J. Cook, PhD (8/2000)  - a key quote from the latter:

"...implementation of the Brady Act appears to have been associated with reductions in the firearm suicide rate for persons aged 55 years or older but not with reductions in homicide rates or overall suicide rates."

Third: the "six times more likely" figure sounds like some bastardized variant of the old Kellerman 43:1 figure, which keeps getting downgraded as the study methodology gets repeatedly hammered by genuine criminologists.  Kellerman started with the concept that the way to measure self defense was to tally up the dead bodies of criminal goblins flat-out killed (not wounded, not scared off, just plain geeked!) by firearm owners in their own homes.  No, I'm not kidding.  To the anti-self-defense propagandists, "chase-off" incidents where there's no police report, no blood, just a fleeing goblin with soiled underwear is a myth.  If so, it's a myth I myself have observed twice, when I pulled large-grade cutlery on various lunatics. Guns work even better.

For detailed critiques of Kellerman-style idiocy, see also PERIL OR PROTECTION? THE RISKS AND BENEFITS OF HANDGUN PROHIBITION by David B. Kopel, Saint Louis University Public Law Review Volume 12, 1993 and Concealed Carry Prevents Violent Crime by Sarah Thompson, M.D. 10/1/97.

In short, this article is an example of the most insidious form of media bias. What appears "balanced" is actually a case of hard facts on the pro-self-defense side versus speculation and crazed propaganda disguised as "science" on the disarmament side.  To get an introduction into how nasty the media bias problem really is, see also Outgunned: How the Network News Media Are Spinning the Gun Control Debate by Geoffrey Dickens of the Media Research Center, 1/5/2000.

Top two graphics ("Kitty Genovese" and "Not A Victim") by Oleg Volk, http://www.a-human-right.com