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Land of 100,000 gun carriers(MN)(barf alert)
startribune.com ^ | 8 July, 2012 | LARRY OAKES

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 ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; US: Minnesota
KEYWORDS: banglist; ccw; constitution; mn
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There is a clear consensus that more carriers have not made us *less* safe.

And, the crime rate continues to drop.

1 posted on 07/08/2012 4:53:47 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

Wisconsin, with its historic and less restrictive shall issue law, reached this level in six months.


2 posted on 07/08/2012 4:54:48 PM PDT by marktwain
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To: marktwain

Acquired the power to kill? He’s acquired the power to protect himself.


3 posted on 07/08/2012 4:59:31 PM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: marktwain
He's not a vigilante. He's not a nut. He's just another average Minnesotan who has acquired the power to kill.

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.

4 posted on 07/08/2012 5:08:08 PM PDT by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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To: marktwain

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.


5 posted on 07/08/2012 5:10:57 PM PDT by c-b 1 (Reporting from behind enemy lines, in occupied AZTLAN.)
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To: marktwain
He's just another average Minnesotan who has acquired the power to kill.

The commies at the "Star & Sickle" at their best again.

6 posted on 07/08/2012 5:11:45 PM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, question everyone else)
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To: marktwain

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.


7 posted on 07/08/2012 5:12:15 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: marktwain

100,000?

Its a start.


8 posted on 07/08/2012 5:15:27 PM PDT by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: marktwain

Every last one of us has a “permit”.

It was issued in 1791.


9 posted on 07/08/2012 5:19:36 PM PDT by ExGeeEye (Romney Sucks. Mutiny Now, or something.)
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To: marktwain

In Utah, where gun laws are so liberal ...

LOL! What convoluted *liberal* logic to call the Bill of rights “liberal.”


10 posted on 07/08/2012 5:27:25 PM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

He should do it for men too. Lots of men live and work in dangerous areas. Have people that threaten them.


11 posted on 07/08/2012 5:32:33 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: marktwain

“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.


12 posted on 07/08/2012 5:32:47 PM PDT by DemforBush (A Repo man is *always* intense!)
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To: marktwain

Someone please start selling these.

13 posted on 07/08/2012 5:38:58 PM PDT by MrBambaLaMamba (This Message Contains Privileged Attorney-Client Communications)
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To: marktwain

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.


14 posted on 07/08/2012 5:39:38 PM PDT by pallis
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
That is, if a state is “shall issue”, judges should also “will carry” orders.

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.

15 posted on 07/08/2012 5:44:48 PM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: marktwain

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.


16 posted on 07/08/2012 5:52:40 PM PDT by SkyDancer ("Ambition Without Talent Is Sad - Talent Without Ambition Is Worse")
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To: marktwain

1 in 40 way too high, I don’t buy it.


17 posted on 07/08/2012 5:54:15 PM PDT by Java4Jay (The evils of government are directly proportional to the tolerance of the people.)
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To: EGPWS

Any wonder their circulation is in the dumpster ?


18 posted on 07/08/2012 6:20:40 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: marktwain

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.


19 posted on 07/08/2012 6:32:15 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (Skittle pooping unicorns are more common than progressives with honor & integrity.)
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To: marktwain

In the beginning it was 1977. Man had appeared.


20 posted on 07/08/2012 6:42:27 PM PDT by School of Rational Thought (Fun for women ages 21 through 35)
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