On May 28, Minnesota becomes the 35th state with a 'shall-issue conceal-carry' law. All of the other 34 states have seen violent crime rates drop after adoption of 'shall issue' laws. There is no demonstrable reason why Minnesota should stray from these nationwide numbers.
BUT ... according to the Nordic tundra's religious left, and amply supported by the Minne-soviet Star & Sickle (Minneapolis Star Tribune), the resultant increase in 'conceal-carry' permit holders will see gun-toting parishioners terrorize their churches, as well as the Metrodome, Mall of America, U. of Minnesota, Minnesota State Fair and just about every other public venue!
They believe both public and private properties alike will now be the latest happy hunting grounds for wild-eyed 'vast-right-wingers,' slinking about, seeking Charles Bronson-like encounters, dredging up society’s pond scum, willing to assist them in meeting an untimely demise. A virtual legion of one-man posses.
This apoplectic anti-gun crowd is cowering in fear as these liberties are rediscovered. To them, May 28 is NOT July 4! Rather, it must surely seem akin to Sept. 11 or Dec. 7.
By the way, I'm at peace with a church making any rule governing its property, anti-gun or otherwise. I am also OK with the local 'Star & Sickle' espousing any editorial slant to its liking, as I'm in favor of the First Amendment. I’m just NOT in favor of disguising editorial commentary as news.
Much anti-gun hysteria is passed off as news 'above the fold.' This unfortunate and thinly disguised veil of page one editorialism does not serve a major newspaper’s reputation well.
Of great value is the actual record of Minnesota's existing 11,000-plus citizens who are already licensed for conceal and carry. From this record, a statistical pro forma predicting the civil impact of new permit holders can be developed.
Is it safe to presume that the old conceal-carry permit holders were subjected to the same rigorous standards for issuance as the newest holders are? That they, too, attended a certified training school? Demonstrated proficiency with a firearm? Passed a mental health check? Passed a criminal background check?
It should be, but not necessarily!
Since the old law's standard was subjective in nature, it allowed wide discretionary latitude for police chiefs and sheriffs. Hence rampant bureaucratic favoritism and discrimination occurred. It was wink, wink, nod, nod for friends and cronies of the local constable. Flat-out denials for the politically unconnected or the common man were themselves 'common.'
So perhaps the old group would have had a worse record than this new group will? Only time will tell.
'Old rules' case in point: the late Darrell Mullroy. Darrell was a longtime Minneapolis resident, a homeowner, former police chief, all-round good citizen, AND president of the highly regarded 'Plus P' firearms training academy. Though spotless of record and well qualified, Darrell was actually denied a conceal-carry permit!
Darrell was politically unconnected and, worse yet, politically incorrect! So you can see what a problem a 'subjective standard' was. 'Equal treatment' under the law is, after all, a constitutional guarantee.
Provided it's properly adhered to, the new law should stop this nonsense of favoritism.
Over the next three years, the number of potential new Minnesota conceal-carry permit holders that is being bandied about is between 30,000 and 90,000. So let's take a number right in the middle.
With 60,000 new permit holders, we can and should expect a proportional increase in the crime rate amongst conceal-carry permit holders. Based on the present 11,000-plus permit holders, it is reasonable to surmise an increase in the abuse of this 'privilege' of over 500 percent. Fair enough?
Now to this group's actual criminal record; How many churches have been pillaged? Universities ransacked? Shopping malls terrorized? How many saloon shoot-outs? How many school, post office or McDonald's shootings? How many banks robbed by this group?
NONE!
How many crimes have been thwarted or averted altogether? I don't know, and you'll likely never know either, as that would not fit a 'PC' reporting mold.
More than 11,000 existing permit holders and no meaningful criminal stats whatsoever! Oh, there are a handful of traffic infractions and a half dozen or so DUIs. For whatever reason, even these infraction groups are substantially lower than society overall. Go figure.
Has a Minnesota conceal-and-carry permit holder EVER committed a serious crime, 'misusing' his or her properly licensed concealed weapon? Not that I can find when scouring the records of the BCA (Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) anyway.
Frankly that was hard for me to believe, as it is so far below the statistical average. Though I scoured the BCA's published records, you're welcome to search for yourself ... good luck.
Using the KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly) method of reasoned deduction, let's do some third-grade math: 500% INCREASE x ZERO CRIMINAL INFRACTIONS = what? That’s right, little Johnny, its STILL ZERO!
Do I think a legally licensed conceal-carry permit holder will ever commit a crime with his or her weapon? YES, of course I believe it will eventually happen. 'Ever' is a really big word.
And trust me, your local 'Daily Planet' will write about it ad nauseam.
I mean, why wouldn’t it happen? We license automobile drivers, even though we have hundreds of traffic deaths annually, some due to manslaughter, some even to vehicular homicide!
Should we stop licensing those folks? YES! One ought to always stop enabling law-breaking perpetrators, but not the general law-abiding public!
Here’s some advice for our dear friends on the religious left: First, read the Bible. In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus said "if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."
Second, if you’re afraid of your parishioners when they're legally armed … re-examine the message you've been preaching.
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