Posted on 07/08/2012 4:53:41 PM PDT by marktwain
One in 40 Minnesota adults now has a permit to carry a handgun, and there's no consensus on whether we're safer.
It's become another thing Pat Cannon makes sure he has on him each morning before heading out the door of his south Minneapolis bungalow.
Wallet? Check. Keys? Check. Handgun?
"Actually, the gun usually goes on with the pants," said Cannon, who tucks his loaded Ruger .357 Magnum revolver into a holster he conceals inside his waistband. He positions it far enough forward on his right hip so that he can drive comfortably, but far enough back so that the grip doesn't poke out and alarm someone at work or in the grocery store.
He's not a vigilante. He's not a nut. He's just another average Minnesotan who has acquired the power to kill.
Cannon, 59, a gray-haired production artist, is one of 103,000 state residents with a permit to carry a handgun -- more than 10 times the number there were a decade ago. They, in turn, are part of a growing "carry' culture across the country: a record 8 million people who have taken on the means to use deadly force if they decide it's necessary.
Handgun owners have more freedom now than they've had in nearly a century, with every state except Illinois offering average residents the option of getting a carry permit, up from just a few states in the 1970s. In Utah, where gun laws are so liberal public schools can't even prohibit them, one in nearly seven adults has a permit. In New Jersey, where local authorities have retained the discretion to deny permits, just one in 4,200 adults has one.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
And, the crime rate continues to drop.
Wisconsin, with its historic and less restrictive shall issue law, reached this level in six months.
Acquired the power to kill? He’s acquired the power to protect himself.
Most people have the power to kill, what he has now is the legal means to readily and effectively defend himself against one of those "most people" that decide to prey upon him.
It is even more horrifying in Alaska, Arizona Vermont, and Wyoming, where residents don’t have to get permission from the State to carry a concealed weapon.
The commies at the "Star & Sickle" at their best again.
I knew of a judge, sick of seeing abused women showing up in court repeatedly, started issuing “will carry” bench orders to them. Basically, when in public they would be required to be armed, and carry a copy of the order to present to any LEO who questioned their being armed.
Because some of these women were poor, he even issued them guns and ammunition he had purchased if they couldn’t afford it. And because it worked so well, the police department started collecting money for the “gun fund”, as well. They had their craw full of women getting beaten again and again as well.
That is, the number of women he saw twice or more dropped to zero.
Unfortunately, this was back in the 1980s, and the value of judges doing this today is just as important.
That is, if a state is “shall issue”, judges should also “will carry” orders.
100,000?
Its a start.
Every last one of us has a “permit”.
It was issued in 1791.
In Utah, where gun laws are so liberal ...
LOL! What convoluted *liberal* logic to call the Bill of rights “liberal.”
He should do it for men too. Lots of men live and work in dangerous areas. Have people that threaten them.
“He’s just another average Minnesotan who has acquired the power to kill.”
Got news for you, Larry. You don’t need a gun to have to power to take a life. But a gun *does* make it a whole lot easier to stop someone intent on taking yours.
Someone please start selling these.
Such a small number of responsible citizens is hardly enough to make a significant impact. Minnesota should encourage more people to take responsibility for their own safety. Get those numbers up, so people can make a difference.
Even if it's a "may issue" state, such a court order may still work.
I'd find it interesting to see how the LEOs in such a state would react to being presented such an order. Any refusal to issue such a permit might be actionable by the court.
I would like to see the ratio of crime done with guns by street gangs vs law abiding citizens. Also include those time where the cops were late in arriving, or time of call to time of showing up at a house breakin.
1 in 40 way too high, I don’t buy it.
Any wonder their circulation is in the dumpster ?
Only 1 in 40, kinda woosie. Should be a crap shoot for criminals trying to guess if they are going to get blown away by grandma or grandpa.
In the beginning it was 1977. Man had appeared.
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