Following is a question that deserves answering. It is not from a gun control advocate, but from somebody who is pro-gun and pro-carry who visited this sight. We had better be ready to answer honest questions intelligently and truthfully if we are to truly put forth a solid case for not only gun ownership, but for personal concealed carry for self defense.

Michael from Michigan wrote: Mark, I love your site. What is your response to the many Brady Bunch examples of CCW holders acting irresponsibly and criminally in many of the cases they site? (This isn't a set up trick question by the way.) I'm a proponent of personal carry of handguns but their examples sure provide good illustrations for promoting the Brady Bunch cause. Sincerely, Mike

The answer is, there is no answer. The cases they cite are real. Some people who obtain concealed carry permits commit crimes. Some do things that are dangerous and have accidents with the guns they carry. The most tragic are those who affect somebody besides the one carrying. And gun owners in general have tragic accidents that have terrible consequences for them and others.

As to the specific question of concealed carry, keep in mind that the Brady Campaign is in the business of looking for cases of gun violence, gun accidents and concealed carry tragedies to further their anti gun cause. And here is a fact. Though each case cited is bad, and some tragic for the individuals involved, the number of cases of people having negative concealed carry issues is statistically insignificant when compared to the now millions of people who legally carry concealed weapons across the U.S. to defend themselves, their families, friends and homes.

And here is another fact. In every state where concealed carry has been implemented, the wailing, dire predictions of the anti gunners has been proven to be unfounded. In no case where concealed carry has been implemented has gun violence increased. So, first we have to look at the big picture here where we enter the world of plain statistics. And what we find here is that statistically, across the U.S., the act of allowing law abiding citizens to adequately defend themselves, does not increase gun accidents, violence, or crime.

On both sides of any issue, anecdotal evidence is the most effective for presentation. Because individual stories elicit emotional responses and if people do not intellectually sort through this type of evidence, to look at the much bigger picture of the effect of something overall, then the effect of that anecdotal evidence elicits a “false” response. And a response based on individual stories rather than the facts of the overall effect causes people to take a side based on emotion, not fact. There are many stories you can read about on the U.S. Concealed Carry Association web sight or in magazines such as “Combat Handguns” that tell the events surrounding people defending themselves and their families with guns. I don't blame people on both sides of the issue for using this because it is the most effective in convincing people to take one side or the other.

The anti gun lobby, with the Brady Campaign leading the way, uses the mantra of “criminal” and “illegal” referring to guns being sold, or obtained by criminals or terrorists to make most of their cases. But what the gun lobby clearly wants, from examining the big picture, is the eradication of all guns and the outlawing of all guns in any hands except for law enforcement and military personnel. That means the Brady Campaign is determined to insist that you and I deal with criminals without the same tools that police use to deal with the criminals that attack, maim, rape, and kill unarmed people. The reasoning is that the police have weapons so we don't need them. No matter that police only show up on the scene (with guns) to clean up the crime scene where unarmed, helpless citizens have been victimized.

No matter the cover story, the Brady Campaign wants to disarm you and I. And every legislative proposal that they put forth or endorse, is designed to disarm law abiding citizens. Take the case of their touting an article on the Mercurynews.com web sight. The article opens by stating “Guns don't kill people; bullets do.” Going on to read the article, it proposes “good sense” legislation to keep “felons and criminals” from buying bullets. But when you read the article, you find that it would make purchasing ammo much more difficult for everyone. It would virtually wipe out the majority of reloading supplies that are largely sold on line. The domino effect would seriously affect sport, hobby and competitive shooting. And they know it. The real intent here is, if they can't get your gun, make it too expensive or too difficult to use. If you can't get ammo, you can't shoot. All in the name of inhibiting “criminals” from getting bullets. (Nausea here) Criminals are great assets to the gun ban lobby.

The flaw in “banning” something is that a ban is generally only in response to a statistically low number of activities or situations caused by the use of the object being banned, compared to the number of the objects in use, and the way most of the objects are used. In the case of guns, in human hands, they are inherently dangerous because they are designed to shoot a projectile that will destroy what it hits. A loose, vague history of gun development reveals that guns were originally developed to obtain food, became implements of warfare and personal defense, and finally used for competitive and sporting use. In the U.S., the civilian firearm was largely responsible for the liberation of America from the British. The Constitution of the U.S. recognizes that and sustains the right of individuals to own and keep firearms for self defense. If they were not deadly, they would not be useful for what they were intended for. However, guns in law abiding hands, used responsibly are shot in various venues by the millions each year by people who never shoot themselves or anybody else.

Today, there are over 200,000,000 guns in circulation in the U.S. That means there are enough guns to arm every infant, small child, child, teenager, young adult, adult, middle aged adult and elderly person in America. We have since our inception as a country owned and used firearms for a multitude of uses. The U.S. Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to keep and bear arms. And historically many countries that have disarmed their citizens have also run roughshod over those citizens including countries that have murdered their own helpless, defenseless, disarmed citizens. Criminals have guns, and will continue to have guns no matter what laws are passed leaving only law abiding citizens disarmed in the wake of gun bans.

Accidents happen with cars. Cars are regulated by speed, licensing of drivers, and a variety of national, local and state laws. Sometimes law abiding people have accidents, many of them devastatingly tragic. Sometimes people get drunk and kill people in cars. Sometimes people who lose their license get in a car and drive anyway, sometimes wrecking, injuring or killing others. Sometimes criminals use cars to assist them in a crime. But nobody suggests banning cars. Laws are passed on how they may be used, but nobody suggests banning them.

Let's take something less necessary than cars. Let's take knives. Knives are used across the U.S. to rob, steal, rape, assault and intentionally kill people. And while there are laws governing the use and carry of knives, I don't know of any groups attempting to ban them.

What about swimming pools? Every year an average of 300 toddlers die in swimming pools. Dozens of small children and infants dies in buckets of water or other liquid. Any suggestion of banning any?

The list of things that kill or maim similar or more numbers of people goes on and on, with few if any being under a “ban” attack. And here is the irony. If you ban any of these other things, it will not endanger the life of anybody. Ban guns and it puts every law abiding citizen in America in danger of criminals that will have them to run roughshod over our citizens.

The fact is laws exist to cover every imaginable “criminal” situation that exists with guns. The problem is that criminals don't obey laws. How many times has that been written or said? I guess it will be recited eternally with the gun control twinks never getting it. Ban guns and it puts me and my family at risk of being victims of criminals who will still have them, or will be more comfortable using something to bludgeon, stab or slice their victims with.

So, it is acknowledged that law abiding citizens with guns will make mistakes and there will be accidents and sometimes tragedies. A few concealed carry citizens will get stupid and commit crimes. But the statistics show that concealed carry overall does not increase gun crime and in many cases reduces the general rate of violent crime where it is instituted. And without argument being armed gives us the best chance that we have of defending ourselves through actual use of guns or many times just from criminals knowing we have one.

We cannot allow the gun control lobby to spit on our Constitution, take away our rights to self defense, and leave us victims to the vilest sector of society because people have accidents or commit crimes with guns. Guns are a fact of life and liberty in America. The answer to gun violence by criminals and violent crime in general is more guns in the hands of more responsible, law abiding citizens.

That is based on statistics and facts. Not on anecdotally induced emotion.

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