Concealed carry in the United States

In the United States, carrying concealed weapon (CCW, also known as concealed carry) is the privilege or right for private citizens to carry a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner, either on the person or in close proximity to the person. In some states, the law applies to only a single concealed weapon, while in other states a person may conceal multiple weapons. The choice of permitted weapon depends on the state; some states restrict the weapon to a single handgun, whereas others permit multiple handguns or even martial arts weapons to be carried. CCW is a more generalized form of what some states call a concealed handgun license (CHL).

The current trend towards adopting concealed carry laws has not been without opposition; however, no state which has adopted a shall-issue concealed carry law has subsequently reversed their decision to do so. Currently, 48 U.S. states allow some form of concealed carry. (About half of the states provide for some variant on non-concealed "open-carry". In 13 states, the same permit or license is required to open-carry a handgun, but most states do not require a permit or license to carry openly; in six states, even with concealed-carry licenses or permits, open-carry is absolutely prohibited.)

State laws

History of Right To Carry laws

In 39 concealed-carry states, issuing officials may not arbitrarily deny a concealed-carry application, a practice known as Florida-style "shall issue." Nine states have "may issue" laws requiring the applicant to demonstrate specific "need." In practice, this is often a mechanism to deny licensing.

These "may issue" states range from "shall issue" in practice, such as Alabama and Connecticut; to "at the whim of local officials", such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, (where rural officials liberally issue permits, but urban officials seldom do) to "almost non-issue" in states such as Maryland; to "never-issue" Hawaii where, though state law allows for the issuance of permits, officials choose not to issue them under any circumstances.

Two states, (Vermont and Alaska), allow a non-felon aged 16 or 21 respectively, to carry without requiring a permit as a fundamental right. Alaskan residents may optionally obtain a permit granting reciprocal carry privileges in certain other states, or to be exempted from the NICS background check. Vermont extends the right to carry without requiring a permit to non-residents as well as to residents, but issues no permits to residents that could function to allow reciprocal concealed carry rights for Vermont residents while in other states.

As of 2006, two states (Wisconsin and Illinois) and Washington D.C. have no provision for legal concealed-carry privileges. There are currently movements in each of these states to pass concealed-carry laws. Legislation was passed in 2004 and again in 2005, but vetoed by the respective governors. On March 23, 2006 the Kansas legislature overrode governor Kathleen Sebelius' veto and enacted a concealed-carry law effective July 1.

Reciprocal recognition of concealed-carry privileges and rights vary state-to-state, are negotiated between individual states, and sometimes additionally depend on the residency status of the licenseholder, even when holding a permit or license. Presently, a license or permit from most states, held by a resident of that state, is recognized in approximately 30 other states. In contrast, a license or permit from most states, held by a non-resident of that state, is recognized in slightly fewer than 30 other states at present. Attempts have been made in the United States House of Representatives (H.R. 226) to enact legislation to compel complete reciprocity for concealed-carry licenses (just as motor vehicle licenses enjoy complete reciprocity.) The United States Senate (S. 388) has introduced similar legislation.

A licensee residing in one state may be able to carry or transport a weapon to another provided there is a reciprocity agreement between the states. A licensee is considered to have constructive knowledge of the law as it applies (that is, courts will presume the licensee knows the law, whether the licensee has troubled himself to learn it or not).

Legislation, case-law, and interpretation thereof by law enforcement agencies change rapidly and frequently in this area of law, and online sources may not be reliable or up-to-date.

Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (federal law)

In 2004, the Congress of the United States enacted the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S. Code 926B and 926C. This federal law allows two classes of persons -- the "qualified law enforcement officer" and the "qualified retired law enforcement officer" -- to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of any state or local law to the contrary, with certain exceptions.

Training

Recognizing the responsibility associated in concealed-carrying a firearm, some states require concealed carry applicants to participate in a training course. Most courses have a classroom and range component, often being completed in one to two days. The classroom topics can include the following: firearm mechanics and terminology; concealed carry legislation and limitations; liability issues; carry methods and safety; home defense; methods for managing and defusing confrontational situations; and practice of techniques. These courses devote a considerable amount of time to liability issues should the licensee have to ever use his weapon. While state laws vary, generally use of deadly force must be a matter of last resort, when life or limb is endangered, when escape or retreat are foreclosed, and warnings are given but ignored.

During the range portion of the course the applicant typically learns and demonstrates safe handling of a firearm, how to safely operate the handgun, and accurate shooting from common self-defense distances. Most states require a certain proficiency to receive a passing grade.

Some states recognize the safety and use-of-force training given to military personnel as acceptable. These states will allow a military ID for active persons or DD214 for legally discharged persons in lieu of formal civilian training certification.

Liability is present where the licensee brandishes the weapon, threatens use, or exacerbates a volatile situation, or when the licensee is carrying while intoxicated.

Concealed carry politics

Concealed carry laws

Legislation and debate regarding the concealed carry of firearms are a subset of gun politics. The main distinction between the topics of concealed carry and the more general consideration of gun ownership is that arguments advocating or opposing concealed carry must first assume that people can legally own firearms. This point is often lost when discussions on concealed carry give way to debates on gun ownership in general. For example, if the argument is made that concealed carry should be illegal because people should not own guns, then the topic of discussion is no longer centered on the merits of concealed carry.

The largest topic in concealed carry politics is who can legally carry concealed weapons. Three common policies are prohibition of concealed carry, discretionary licensing, and nondiscretionary licensing. Less common is unregulated, legal concealed carry such as in Vermont and Alaska. Furthermore, minimum age requirements of 18 or 21 years are typical.

Even in localities where concealed carrying is permitted, there may be legal restrictions on where a person may carry a concealed weapon. Typical examples include the prohibition of concealed carry in public schools, establishments that serve alcohol, public accommodations (theaters, concert halls, courtrooms) or public events (polling places, state fairs).

These restrictions vary widely, particularly in the United States. For example, in Texas, one may not carry in any establishment which generates 51% or more of its revenue from the sale of alcohol for on-premises consumption. In Florida, one may carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol, but not into the bar area. Virginia prohibits concealed-carry in businesses with a liquor license, but open-carry is permitted. Pennsylvania does not prohibit carry in any establishment, whether it be a family restaurant, bar, or club. In Ohio and North Carolina, a law-abiding permit holder may not carry in any establishment licensed to dispense alcohol for on-premises consumption.

Further restrictions may be placed on what kind of guns may be carried and how many a person may carry at one time.

Civil liberties

It has been argued by some that CCW permits are unconstitutional. In their December 2004 article "Why Adopt a Vermont-style CCW Law?", the gun rights organization Gun Owners of America argues:

"Constitutionally, officials cannot license or register a fundamental right"

...the article then goes on to cite an example of a supreme court ruling in regards to the First Amendment:

"The Supreme Court held in Lamont v. Postmaster General (1965) that the First Amendment prevents the government from registering purchasers of magazines and newspapers -- even if such material is "communist political propaganda."

Research into the effects of concealed carry laws on crime

There have been many studies published in academic journals regarding the effects of various concealed carry laws on crime rate. Academics have also taken the debate outside of journals, writing books, blogs, and having debates on the subject.

The effect of various concealed carry laws are the subject of past and present research. In his book, More Guns, Less Crime, controversial pro-gun scholar John Lott's analysis of crime report data has shown some statistically significant effects of concealed carry laws. One major conclusion was that locations which enacted more permissive concealed carry laws had a decrease in violent crime, but an increase in property crime.

Don Kates summarizes the consensus reached by criminological research into gun control thus: "Unfortunately, an almost perfect inverse correlation exists between those who are affected by gun laws, particularly bans, and those whom enforcement should affect. Those easiest to disarm are the responsible and law abiding citizens whose guns represent no meaningful social problem. Irresponsible and criminal owners, whose gun possession creates or exacerbates so many social ills, are the ones most difficult to disarm."

Regardless of the interpretation of statistics, the trend in the United States has been towards greater permissiveness of concealed carry. In Florida, which first introduced "shall-issue" concealed carry laws, crimes committed against residents dropped markedly upon the general issuance of concealed-carry licenses,[1] which had the unintended consequence of putting tourists in Florida driving marked rental cars at risk from criminals (since tourists may be readily presumed unarmed.) Florida responded by enacting laws prohibiting the obvious marking of rental cars. In 1991, the Luby's massacre prompted Texas lawmakers to pass a concealed carry law.

Related literature

• 1977 John Lott and David Mustard, “Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” Journal of Legal Studies.
• 1998 Dan Black and Daniel Nagin, “Do Right-to-Carry Laws Deter Violent Crime?” Journal of Legal Studies.
• 1998 John Lott, “The Concealed-Handgun Debate.” Journal of Legal Studies.
• 2000 John Lott, More Guns, Less Crime (AEI).
• 2002 John Lott, More Guns, Less Crime, Second Edition (AEI).
• 2003 Ian Ayres and John Donohue, “Shooting Down the ‘More Guns, Less Crime’ Hypothesis, Stanford Law Review.
• 2003 Florenz Plassmann and John Whitley, “Confirming ‘More Guns, Less Crime,” Stanford Law Review.
• 2003 Ayres and Donohue, “The Latest Misfires in Support of the ‘More Guns, Less Crime’ Hypothesis,” Stanford Law Review.

Demographics

Statistics published by the various states give some indication of what type, and how many people acquire permits to carry concealed weapons. Permit-holders are predominantly male: for example, while 50,000 women are licensed in Florida as of 2005, 85% of permit holders are male in that state. Recently, the number of permit-holders has been growing: Michigan, for example, reports 30,000 applications in a a one year period. Florida has issued over 800,000 permits since adopting the law, and had 289,644 currently-licensed permit holders as of October 2004.

Distribution by age is generally proportionate to the adult population. Florida reports 26% of permit-holders are in the 21–35 age group, 36% are 36–50, 27% are 51–65, and 11% are over age 65. The numbers of permit revocations are small; North Carolina reports only 0.2% of their 263,102 holders had their license revoked in the 10 years since they have adopted the law — a lower proportion than the crime rate among North Carolina police officers. Revocation of license is for any criminal conviction, and need not involve an illegal firearm usage. Revocations typically arise from DUI. Similarly, Of the 14,000 licenses issued in Oregon, only 4 individuals (0.03%) were convicted of criminal (though not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm.

See also

• The Bias Against Guns
• More Guns, Less Crime
• Gun politics

External links

• Packing.org Comprehensive information for CCW in all states, including laws and application requirements.
• NRA-ILA guide to gun laws
• National Shooting Sports Foundation
• National Rifle Association
• International Defensive Pistol Association
• Selecting a pistol for concealed carry A review of the issues and types of handguns used for concealed carry