In Washington state we have a law that allows a person to get a license to carry a concealed weapon wherever they want, excluding places that explicitly state otherwise. Ultimately, this seems like a good idea, but according to studies by the Violence Policy Center and the Journal of Criminal Law, there’s at least a 4.5 percent increase in gun-related violence in places where this law exists. Also, concealed handgun permit owners are arrested for gun-related offenses 81 percent more than people who don’t own them. Additionally, 622 people, including 18 law enforcement officers, have been killed by concealed carriers, and they have resulted in 38 separate murder-suicide cases since 1995.
On the other hand, the National Crime Information Center and the Department of Justice speculate that more than 1,570 murders, 4,000 rapes and nearly 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been avoided annually since the early 1990s, and over 40 percent of criminals surveyed said that the knowledge that someone had a gun would have deterred their attack. Additionally, for the 1.36 million permits given, only 135 have been revoked for gun crimes.
Solving this problem might be simple. Allowing open carry in all situations could fix this easily. Open carry provides a better deterrent than concealed carry, ultimately decreasing crime.
Isaac Ennis
Vancouver
