Concealed Weapons Ban- should it be lifted or no?

So there's a lot of talk going on around Point about the concealed weapons ban in WI. The majority here don't want it lifted. I am just curious what you all think about it.

As a wife of a police officer I am way against it, for his safety and to protect people against using their firearms in hostile, brash, not so well thought out moments. But that's my opinion.

What's yours?

And what do you all who live in states without a ban on concealed weapons think? Good idea, bad idea, doesn't really matter???

Would you carry a concealed weapon?

As a wife of a police officer I am way against it, for his safety and to protect people against using their firearms in hostile, brash, not so well thought out moments.

You have to remember that a concealed carry permit will not make his job any less safe. Only law abiding citizens will benefit form the law, criminals carry concealed weapons now, the ban is not protecting him.

We have concealed carry permits in NC, and I hold one myself. We also have reciprocal agreements with our neighboring states and our permit is good there as well.
In order to get the permit in NC you have to complete the state provided course in handgun training, undergo a background check, and submit to fingerprinting.
There is a list of rules that go along with the permit. You cannot carry on any government property, in a bank, or any ticketed event, or where alcohol is sold. You must also inform any police officer you come in contact with that you are armed, in a traffic stop for instance.
In all honesty, I believe a concealed carry law actually contributes to a decline in certain types of crimes. If a criminal walks among a defensless populace he feels basically free to do as he wishes, because of course he will have a gun regardless.
With a concealed carry law in place however, the same criminal stands a much greater chance of deciding to prey upon someone who is armed and prepared to defend himself, and this in itself can act as a deterrant.

Of course people on either side of the issue will present their own set of statistics, but in many cases, crime rate has decreased in areas after the implementation of a concealed carry law.
Consider places like Washington DC. They have a complete ban on weapons, but also have the highest murder rate per capita in the country. Obviously preventing law abiding citizens from carrying a firearm is not doing anything to curb crime there.

The police here encourage people to carry weapons. I had a long talk with the sheriff when I was filing my paperwork, and he was glad to issue the permit. They see it as making their job easier. Given the choice, he'd much rather have to investigate the shooting death of a rapist rather than the rape of the victim.

Criminals will always have guns. The ban on the ability to carry a firearm only renders the average citizen unable to defend himself without also becoming a criminal.
If a person prefers to be a sheep among wolves and depend wholly on someone else to defend their life, then that's their choice. It is not mine however. An entire police force doesn't help you at all when you're in a parking lot at night, just you and the guy who has no problem at all killing you for $20 to buy another fix.
The preservation of an individual's life is his own responsibility. I have never understood people who would willingly give up that responsibility for an illusion of public safety.

nothing to add to that at all

Why should law-abiding citizens be denied the right to lawful self defense... are their lives worth any less than a police oficers?

As Clay has said, a concealed weapons ban doesn't make your husband any safer or his job any easier. On the contrary, it has the opposite effect, as only the bad guys are armed. Lawfully armed civilians have come to the aid of officers in distress in the past.

Although I have yet to receive my FL certification, myself and the FHP troopers I spend considerable time with are a bit more relaxed when we pull over a person with a valid CWL. Why, do you ask? Simply put, it is because we know that person has proven themselves to be an honest, law-abiding citizen. We know for a fact that that person isn't a criminal, nor are they a nutcase.

and to protect people against using their firearms in hostile, brash, not so well thought out moments.

One of the favorite tactics of those opposed to ccw is to decry that the streets will flow with blood as the result of road rage shooting, etc. The simple fact of the matter is that this is not the case. Incidents involving licensees are the exception, not the norm. There's an old adage that states, "An armed society is a polite society." The seemingly holds true, especially when it comes to ccw.

Remember, it's not the law-abiding citizens that you need be woried about... it's the criminals. Restrictions on ccw accomplish nothing more than to empower criminals and make their lives easier.

I am from WI and I back the concealed carry law 100%

Clay pretty much summed up my thoughts on the matter.

Definatly have to agree here.

As a police officer, he should be worried about guns in the hands of criminals. Criminals will have them no matter what.

Guns in the hands of people who go through the state government to get a PERMIT are NOT to be worried about.

there is a lot of responsibility involved in obtaining a permit here in NC. You're going to be held accountable for your actions if you use the gun--so you better be very certain you need to use it. If a permit holder is found to have used the weapon irresponsibly, the police know that the permit owner KNEW what he was doing. This prevents them from using an excue of ignorance or fear. Part of the condition for owning a permit is the understanding that you know how, when and why to use a weapon, and more importantly, when NOT to use it.

When I get some spare money, I will probably get my concealed to carry, although, as a state employee, I can't bring it to work...

Anyone I know that is against carrying guns is afraid of them. They are uneasy around them, and the mere presence of a gun makes them nervous--you shoudl see my mother and her friends when my father has his AR-15 out..."oooooohhhh....scary black rifle, oh no, it's black and not made of wood, it MUST be dangerous!"
e farmiliar with them as a tool, and you do't fear them. Learn how to use the tool, and if you ever have to use it, you won't be afraid.

Like changing a tire. IF you're stuck on the road, and blow a tire, you're going to be a bit nervous if it's the first time you've done it.
If you 've practiced doing it, when you need to, you won't panic.

Defending yourself is not a job you should completly entrust other to do.

Funny how gun rights and reptiles kinda go together.

At the last Raleigh reptile show, Me and my wife were watching the entries for Tony. They had a gun show right next door. It's amazing how many people went to both.

I guess the people that want to take our guns away also want to take our reptiles away--becaus ethey "scare" people that might vote for them...

One point that needs to be raised I think ...

Of all the States that have adopted CCW accessibility for their law-abiding citizens, not one of them, not even ONE, has repealed the law because things didn't work out as they had hoped.

To me, that says volumes about the results from adopting such laws!

I can see all of your points. For me it's one of those, "it's new" things. I was raised here in a society without concealed weapons, so thinking about people walking around with guns is kind of spooky.

You all do make very good points though, and I think that I am starting to see it in more realistic terms.

missy

I was raised here in a society without concealed weapons, so thinking about people walking around with guns is kind of spooky.

You were merely raised in a society without a concealed weapons permit.
I would guarantee there is a fair number of the people you meet every day who are carrying a gun now and always have.
These otherwise lawful citizens would prefer to live through an attack and then face a concealed weapons charge than to never survive an attack at all.

I for one am not going to obey a law I feel endangers my personal safety, and a ban on concealed weapons does just that.
What it comes down to is little will actually change if the ban is lifted. Some people who are now hesitant to carry illegally will begin carrying with a permit, but they are of no danger in the first place.
What will change is the mentality of the criminals in that state. They will no longer be able to assume they have an advantage over their victims.

Take for example the area I live in. Home breakins do happen occasionally. However, someone breaking into an occupied home is never heard of. I would gues at least 80% of homes here have guns, and most folks, while they have no desire for violence, would not hesitate to kill someone they feel threatens their family. A thief has a very good chance of being killed trying to get in, and therefore doesn't attempt it unless they are sure the house is empty.
A concealed carry law extends this attitude into the public setting to a degree. criminals still have the ability to size up their target, and some people are unlikely to carry a weapon. These people will become the victims, while anyone who is likely to be carrying will be passed by.
As far as my opinion goes, there simply is no valid argument against allowing lawful citizens the right to arm themselves for self defense.

That reminds me...

LAst year, we had a string of break ins in the area around my parents house--Rural frankiln NC. Now, unlike other areas of the country, people don;t get broken into at night--that would be suicide, as no matter what, the crroks would be outgunned.

Now, drug users NEED money for their habit, and being drug users, are unable to aquire the money normally. So, they resort to stealing. Knowing they will die if they are confronted by the homeowner, they do not break in if one is present.

This, in the case for my parents area, is usually when people are working, or out of the house during the day.

What they had to do was stake out a place, and wait until people left, then they'd break in.

Home invasions are almost unheard of here--nobody is ever terrorized in their house, forced to call 911 and wait for the cops to drive 15 miles to the house. Sure stuff gets stolen, but that';s not the point.

Someone trying to break into an occupied house at night in my parents area will die. They know it, so they don't do it. No need to burden the police.

In Raleigh, things are different. Criminals have a better chance. every onece in a while, they end up at the end of a gun. There are not enough people with guns to deter them, and women get raped at home, people get robbed, murdered, terrorized, tied up, etc.

My wife has a hangun. When I'm not home until late, we don't have to worry. The worst case scenario is that someone breaks into the house when she's there. Well, she's not helpless. In fact, she's fully capeable of protecting herself. I don't worry. She isn't afraid.

I need to vent about this stuff sometimes...most of my cooworkers are terrified of guns, and I don;t like to get into these kind of discussions at work.