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In 39 of these states, issuing officials may not arbitrarily deny a permit application, a practice known as Florida-style "shall issue." A further eight states have "may issue" laws; typically specific "need" must be established, but in practice, this is often a mechanism to prohibit most people from carrying. These "may issue" states range from "shall issue" in practice ( Alabama and Connecticut are examples) to "at the whim of local officials" (such as New York and California ; rural officials in those states liberally issue permits but officials in urbanized counties generally are more restrictive) to "almost non-issue" in states such as Maryland where even documented death threats are sometimes not sufficient to convince officials to issue permits and to "never-issue" Hawaii , where permits are never issued under any circumstances. Two states, ( Vermont and Alaska ), allow any non- Felon who has reached the age of 16 or 21 respectively, to carry without a permit of any kind. However, Alaska residents may still obtain a completely optional, non-required permit so as to receive reciprocal carry rights in other states, or to gain exemption from the NICS background check. As of 2006, only two US States— Wisconsin and Illinois —have no provision whatsoever that would allow for the legal concealed carry of firearms by "ordinary" citizens. There are currently movements in each of these states to pass concealed-carry laws; legislation was passed in 2004 and again in 2005, but vetoed by the respective governors. It is expected that Wisconsin will have a signed Concealed Carry law by the end of 2007. The Kansas legislature over-rode the governor's veto to pass CCW on March 23rd, 2006. Reciprocal recognition of concealed carry privileges vary by state to state, are negotiated by each state with each other state where reciprocity exists, and additionally depend, in some cases, on the residency status of individuals holding each state's concealed carry license. Presently, a license from most states, held by a resident of that state, is recognized in approximately 30 other states. In contrast, a license from most states, held by a '''non-resident''' of that state, is recognized in slightly fewer than 30 other states at present. Attempts have been made in the US House to pass legislation to force all states to recognize all other state's concealed carry licenses, much as driver's licenses are recognized in all other states besides the one where issued, but no corresponding attempts at such legislation have occurred in the US Senate. Carrying a weapon is an enormous responsibility. Training courses spend a considerable amount of time discussing the many aspects of liability should one actually use a handgun, even to defend oneself. Although state laws vary, almost any use that is allowed is solely as a last resort, when one fears that life is in danger, when escape or retreat are not options, and warnings are given and ignored. This liability is particularly present if the wearer brandishes the weapon, threatens to use a weapon, worsens a troubled situation (instead of calming it or simply leaving), or is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Any criminal sanction for use of Firearms can apply to the permit-holder as well as to the professional criminal. WHY CARRY? There are a variety of motivations people have for seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon, most of which result from the culture of fear that currently prevails in the United States and is constantly reinforced by the mainstream media. Historically, judges have often allowed applicants who could prove they had a threatening job to have a permit to carry (including Judge s themselves, Bailiff s, and Security Guard s). Those who could prove they were personally threatened were also often given permission to carry, such as a spouse threatened by their mate, notable or famous persons, and people who received death threats. These historical grants of permission rarely included a training requirement. More recently, with the growth of the concealed carry movement, many more people have sought a permit that would allow them to be armed in public. This could be for:
FBI Uniform Crime Report (1992) shows that 70% of violent crimes are committed by 7% of criminals, many of whom are on Probation or are given Parole and released early. Of incarcerated Felon s surveyed by the Department Of Justice , 34% have been driven away, wounded, or captured by armed citizens; 40% state that they have decided against committing crimes for fear their would-be victims were armed. The FBI's statistics in the 1992 Uniform Crime Report also concluded: "Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms for self-defense." {Link without Title} States offer selective reciprocity in this area. That is, a permit-holder in one state may be able to carry or transport a weapon in other states with a reciprocity agreement with the home state. Reciprocity does impose on the permit-holder the responsibility for knowing and understanding the differences in the laws between the states. ARGUMENTS FOR GREATER RESTRICTION OF CONCEALED CARRY Opponents of concealed carry laws argue that permit requirements are not strict enough, and that law enforcement should have more discretion in issuing licenses when they believe it is in the interests of public safety. The counterclaim is that this creates inconsistent results and arbitrary rulings across the many jurisdictions of a state. A state-wide law, it is argued, should apply uniformly across the state. This issue produces considerable controversy in many states where a highly urbanized region wants more restrictive licensing compared to a larger rural area in favor of less restrictive licensing. Examples include northern Virginia, the Twin Cities (Minnesota), and Seattle (Washington). Another argument concerns restricting places where carrying is permitted, and, as one might expect, there are many variations in the state laws that result. Some prohibit any carrying on school grounds or in bars, others restrict carrying at public places (theaters, concert halls) or public events (polling places during elections, State Fairs, and others). Those opposed to concealed carry often make no distinction between "bars" (places where the consumption of alcohol is the primary activity) and "restaurants with a liquor license." Some states however, make this important distinction. For example, in Texas, you may not carry in any establishment which generates 51% or more of its revenue from the sale of alcohol for on-premises consumption. Another example is Florida, where you can carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol, just not in the bar section, or Virginia, which prohibits concealed-carry in businesses with a liquor license, but "open-carry" is allowed. In Florida, which first introduced Florida-style "shall-issue" concealed carry laws, crimes committed against residents dropped markedly upon the wide issuance of concealed carry permits. This had the unintended unfortunate side-effect of putting tourists in Florida driving marked rental cars at risk from criminals, since such individuals getting off airplanes invariably were not carrying concealed, unlike large numbers of residents. The counterclaim to this argument against permitting concealed carry was that the solution in Florida to this problem was simply to pass new laws prohibiting the obvious marking of rental cars, such that identification of individuals who would likely not be carrying concealed could not be easily determined by criminals intent on finding easy marks. With this change, protection was extended to visitors by inference, and crime rates continued to fall with the issuance of "shall-issue" concealed weapons permits. WHO CARRIES? Statistics published by the various states give some indication of who and how many people acquire permits to carry concealed weapons. Some recent indicative statistics:
Of the 14,000 licensees in Oregon , they report only 4 (0.03%) were convicted of the criminal (not necessarily violent) use or possession of a firearm. METHODS OF CARRY At present, only five of the "shall issue" states require concealment; however, some localities require concealment by statute, or harass those who carry a weapon openly. Most permit-holders want to conceal their weapon in any case, if only to avoid inadvertently causing people to make "person with a gun" calls to the police. Concealment is usually achieved by a combination of a medium or small Revolver or Semi-automatic Pistol , a good Holster for the purpose, and sometimes a covering garment. All of these are adapted from police experience. Changes in methods of concealment, however, are sometimes required upon crossing state boundaries, even when reciprocal recognition of CCW licenses exists between both states. For example, Florida requires concealment of handguns, and a pocket holster (front or rear trouser pocket), inside waistband (IWB) clip or Holster , or ankle holster are all legal, provided appropriate covering garments are worn. Georgia , on the other hand, does not require concealment but does require that if carrying concealed, the handgun be carried in some type of holster, and does not permit an IWB clip. {Link without Title} Careful review of differences in state laws, despite the existence of reciprocal recognition of CCW licenses, should always be made prior to making any trips across state lines. PREFERRED WEAPONS FOR CONCEALED CARRY There is such a wide variety of candidates to consider for concealed carry, it is impossible to generalize about a single "best" weapon. Most experts say the criteria for choice should be:
Popular concealed carry calibers, in increasing power order are .32 S&W Long, 32 ACP , 380 ACP (9 x 17 mm, 9 mm Kurz), .38SPL , 9 Mm Makarov , 9mm , .40 S&W , .357 SIG , .45 GAP , .45 ACP , .357 Magnum , and 10 Mm Auto . CONCEALED CARRY ISSUES OF INTEREST
TRAINING Most states impose a training requirement that must be completed successfully in order to receive a permit. These usually can be completed in 1-2 days, and almost all have both a classroom and a range component. Classroom topics typically include: firearm mechanics and terminology, concealed carry legislation and limitations, liability issues, carry methods and safety, home defense, methods for managing and defusing confrontational situations, and practice methods. At the range, students will practice shooting a target from a standing position, and may practice shooting from cover. Most require a certain proficiency to receive a passing grade. REFERENCES
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