Myth: People with concealed weapons will commit crimes
Fact: The results for the 30 states that have passed “shall-issue” laws for concealed carry permits are similar. Here are some specific cases:
State Permits issued Revoked permits % Revoked
Florida 551,000 109 0.02%[31]
Virginia 50,000 0 0.00%[32]
Arizona 63,000 50 0.08%[33]
Fact: People with concealed carry permits are:[34]
· 5.7 times less likely to be arrested for violent offenses than the general public
· 13.5 times less likely to be arrested for non-violent offenses than the general public
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[30] FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1992 – for following bullet points
[31] October 1987 through Jan 1999
[32] 1995 – no follow-up data available
[33] 1994 through 1998
[34] William Strdevant, unpublished study reported in August 2000 edition of America’s 1st Freedom
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Fact: In Texas, citizens with concealed carry permits are 14 times less likely to commit a crime. They are also five times less likely to commit a violent crime.[35]
Fact: Even gun control organizations agree it is a non-problem, as in Texas – “because there haven't been Wild West shootouts in the streets”.[36]
Fact: Of 14,000 CCW licensees in Oregon, only 4 (0.03%) were convicted of the criminal (not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm.
Fact: In Florida, a state that has allowed concealed carry since 1989, you are twice as likely to be attacked by an alligator than a person with a concealed carry permit.[37]
Myth: Texas CCW holders are arrested 66% more often
Fact: This claim comes from the Violence Policy Center (VPC), a gun control policy group. Most arrests the VPC cites are not for any form of violent crime (for example, bounced checks or tax delinquency). [38]
Fact: This data is also for arrests, not convictions.
Fact: Many of these arrests came in the early years of Texas CCWs, when the law was not understood by most of the law enforcement community or prosecutors.
Fact: Compared to the entire population, Texas CCW holders are about 7.6 times less likely to be arrested of a violent crime.[39] The numbers breakdown as follows:
° 214,000 CCW holders
° 526 (0.2%) felony arrests of CCW holders that have been adjudicated
° 100 (0.05%) felony convictions
Fact: The four year violent crime rate for CCW holders is 128 per 100,000. For the general population, it is 710 per 100,000. In other words, CCW holders are 5.3 times less likely to commit a violent crime.[40]
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[35] Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Census Bureau, reported in San Antonio Express-
News, September, 2000
[36] Nina Butts, Texans Against Gun Violence, Dallas Morning News, August 10, 2000
[37] Florida Department of State, “Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report”, 1998 – Florida
Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, December 1998
[38] “Basis For Revocation Or Suspension Of Texas Concealed “, Texas Department of Public Safety,
December 1, 1998
[39] Texas Department of Corrections data, 1996-2000, compiled by the Texas State Rifle Association,
www.tsra.com/arrests.htm
[40] “An Analysis Of The Arrest Rate Of Texas Concealed Handgun License Holders As Compared To The Arrest Rate Of The Entire Texas Population”, William E. Sturdevant, September 1, 2000