The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a

gun: UNIVERSAL CCW LAW

David Chicarelli

Background Info• CCW = Carrying Concealed Weapon

• All 50 states allow some form of CCW: Illinois was the last state to adopt CCW law last summer

• What is it? After undergoing a rigorous handgun safety class including several hours of range time, an individual can, assuming a clear background check, apply for license to carry a loaded firearm for protection.

• Each state has different training requirements for what’s necessary to obtain a permit, but most are very similar.

• Presently, the issuance of such permits are a matter of state control; however, several states have reciprocity agreements with other states or recognize other state permits.

What are the problems with the present reciprocity arrangement?

• Reciprocity agreements are very convoluted and constantly changing and some states don’t have reciprocity, but honor the CCW permit of another state, but that state may not reciprocate.

• What does this mean? Individuals who cross state lines have to stay abreast on the changing laws on carrying the firearm in each of the states they enter assuming they can carry there in the first place.

• Because these laws change frequently, they are likely to inadvertently violate the law when they were following the law of the state in which they reside or, were following a previous version of the CCW law in the state they were in.

• The main issue is with those states that do not acknowledge the permits of the other states for no apparent reason. Political.

Gun Data and Evidence• There are well over 6 million CCW permit holders in all 50 states.

• The US is the most armed country with 1 gun per person.

• In 2007 U.S. citizens owned 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms. About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States. Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.

• In 2009, the estimated total number of firearms available to civilians in the United States increased to approximately 310 million: 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns.

Gun Data Cont.• Per capita, the civilian gun stock has roughly doubled since 1968, from

one gun per every two persons to one gun per person.

• Retail prices of guns vary widely, from $75 or less for inexpensive, low-caliber handguns to more than $10,000 for higher-end, standard-production rifles and shotguns.

• What does this mean? If someone wants a gun, they will get a gun.

• The best way to curb the negative aspects of guns is to fully regulate them and to ensure a legal avenue to own and register them.

Gun Violence Facts• The decline in gun homicides comes as U.S. firearm sales are

skyrocketing. After holding stable at 8.5 to 9 million checks from 1999 to 2005, the FBI reported a surge to 10 million in 2006, 11 million in 2007, nearly 13 million in 2008 and more than 14 million last year, a 55 percent increase in just four years.

• The highest gun homicide rate is in Washington, D.C., which has had the nation’s strictest gun-control laws for years and bans concealed carry: 20.50 deaths per 100,000 population, five times the general rate.

• The lowest rate, 1.12, is in Utah, which has such a liberal concealed weapons policy that most American adults can get a permit to carry a gun in Utah without even visiting the state.

CCW and Gun Violence• Valid studies of the effects of more concealed weapons permits on

firearms deaths could be obtained by studying shooting deaths that involved only concealed-carry permit holders.

• Such data is not collected by most law enforcement agencies and not compiled nationally. A national CCW bill could force each state to compile these statistics so we could have a better idea. Presently, figures are all over the place.

• Law enforcement agencies also do not collect information on the number of times civilians use firearms to defend themselves or their property against attack.

• So what do we know? Concealed carry states on average had lower violent crime rates (22%) than states that did not have such laws.

Vehicle: The Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013 (H.R. 2959) • The bill would allow any person who is not prohibited from

possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law and who has a valid, concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed handgun in any state that issues its own residents permits to carry concealed firearms. Persons carrying a handgun in another state pursuant to H.R. 2959 would be subject to the laws of that state with respect to where concealed firearms may be carried.

• H.R. 2959 would not create a federal licensing system, nor authorize the federal government to interfere with the powers of the states to set standards for the issuance of carry permits, nor establish federal standards for carry permits, nor override state laws allowing for the carrying of firearms without a permit. Rather, it would simply require the states to recognize each others’ carry permits.

My Proposal• H.R. 2959 is similar to what I want; however, I feel like it is unlikely to

succeed with the Democrats. I propose an amendment to the bill.

• I would like for the bill to be amended requiring either: a. a mandatory 3 day wait period for all firearm purchases and/or b. a portion of the revenue generated from the issuance of these permits should go to firearm training and education programs and mental health services for the states.

• Additionally, the states should be compelled to gather statistics on infractions or violence specifically at the hand of CCW permit holders.

• I believe these amendments would make the bill far more palatable to the Democrats in both the house and senate.

Arguments • The Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects

an individual right to keep and bear arms for defensive purposes. In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court ruled that “the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right” throughout U.S. history, and that the Second Amendment protects “the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.” In McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), the Court ruled that the protections of the Second Amendment extend to infringements under state and local laws.

Arguments

• The Seventh and Ninth Circuits, among other courts, have affirmed that the individual right protected by the Second Amendment includes the carrying of firearms in public for self-defense. In the 2012 case of Shepard v. Madigan, authored by Judge Richard Posner, the court ruled that the “confrontations” of which the Supreme Court wrote in Heller “are not limited to the home.” The court accordingly held, “A right to bear arms thus implies a right to carry a loaded gun outside the home.”

Arguments• Statistics are not readily available for every state, but those that

are tend to show that citizens with carry permits are more law-abiding than the general public. In Florida, the state that has issued the most concealed firearm carry permits—due to its large population and the relatively early date of its Right-to-Carry law—only about 0.01 percent of permits issued have been revoked because of firearm crimes by permit holders. Other states that keep such statistics have had similar experiences.

• Texas conducted a study and found that less than 1% of the crimes are committed by CCW holders.

Arguments• The right of self-defense has been recognized in law for centuries.

The Second Amendment guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms for “security.” The laws of all states recognize the right to use force in self-defense. The Supreme Court has recognized that a person “may repel force by force” in self-defense, and is “entitled to stand his ground and meet any attack made upon him with a deadly weapon, in such a way and with such force” as needed to prevent “great bodily injury or death.” Beard v. United States (1895).

Arguments• This bill recognizes both the increased popularity of concealed carry

and the increased mobility of the U.S. population. The current patchwork of state and local laws and reciprocity arrangements can prove daunting and confusing for even the most conscientious and well-informed concealed carry permit holders. People carrying in good faith and strictly for defensive purposes have been arrested and subjected to prosecution for inadvertent violations, sometimes as a result of voluntarily disclosing their possession of firearms to law enforcement officers.

Policy Paramours: Sponsors • Richard Nugent (R-Florida) • Co-sponsored Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act• Opposes restricting gun purchase & possession.• Votes to loosen restrictions on interstate gun purchases.• Nugent is a member of the Tea Party Caucus and believes that Communists are a

"national security threat.”• NRA Grade: A+

• Jim Matheson (D-Utah)• Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers.• National cross-state standard for concealed carry.• Voted to teach kids Eddie Eagle GunSafe's lifesaving message. “The NRA’s Smokey

the Bear”• Allow veterans to register unlicensed guns acquired abroad.• Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC.• NRA Grade: B+

Republicans on Board

• Most.

• The most anti-gun Republican is Mark Kirk of Illinois, the only member of the GOP to vote for the assault weapons ban and for the ban on high-capacity clips. Additionally, he was the only Republican to vote against an expansion of concealed-carry rights.

Democrats on Board• Sen. Jon Tester (MT) • NRA Grade: A• Supported nationwide concealed-carry reciprocity H.R. 822, the National Right-to-

Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. • Co-sponsored D.C. Personal Protection Act to repeal an assortment of draconian gun

laws in the District of Columbia. • Voted yes on Department of State’s International Aid bill to prohibit foreign entities

(such as the United Nations) from regulating or taxing Americans’ firearms. • Voted yes on allowing firearms in checked luggage on Amtrak trains

• Rep. Ron Kind (WI)• NRA Grade: D• Co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus; • Voted yes on Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act; • Supports nationwide concealed-carry reciprocity; • Co-sponsored Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act;• Co-sponsored D.C. Personal Protection Act.

Governmental Stake Holders• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives• National Governors Association• Department of Justice• Border Patrol/Homeland Security• Sen Committee on the Judiciary’s Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee• FBI• Sherriff’s Offices• Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Non-Governmental Stake Holders

• Congressional Sportman’s foundation, • Cease fire• NRA• The Second Amendment Foundation• Opencarry.org• Violence Policy Center• Gun/ammunition manufacturers• CCW instructors• National Shooting Sports Foundation• Independent Firearms Owners Association• Liberal Gun Owners Association• National Association for Gun Rights• Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

Marketing• The law should be marketed not as anything new, just an efficiency

bill to make the present laws more uniform.

• Get stake holders to rally around the bill, especially the Democrats.

• Use the powerful NRA lobby.

• Blast the decrease in crime vs. increase in permit/gun sales statistics on various news outlets.

References• http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/09/us-usa-guns-illinois-idUSBRE9680ZB20130709

• http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/21/number-of-concealed-carry-permits-grows-to-13500/

• http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/fact-sheets/2013/hr2959.aspx?s=&st=&ps=

• http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34714389/ns/us_news-life/t/record-numbers-licensed-pack-heat/#.U0LfqMc-RG4

• http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/08/28/us-world-firearms-idUSL2834893820070828

• http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/hotline/2009/07/defeat-of-thune-amendment-runs-afoul-of.php

• http://www.gunsandammo.com/2012/09/12/8-surprisingly-pro-gun-democrats/

• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/do-concealed-weapon-laws-result-in-less-crime/2012/12/16/e80a5d7e-47c9-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_blog.html

• http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2012-12-22-264494.112112-Texas-study-Concealed-carry-permit-holders-commit-less-than-1-of-the-crimes.html

• http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2012-12-22-264494.112112-Texas-study-Concealed-carry-permit-holders-commit-less-than-1-of-the-crimes.html