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http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/MichaelBarone/2007/04/30/feeling_safe_isnt_safe
Feeling Safe Isn't Safe
By Michael Barone
Monday, April 30, 2007
The murders two weeks ago at Virginia Tech naturally set off a cry in the
usual quarters -- The New York Times, the London-based Economist -- for
stricter gun-control laws. Democratic officeholders didn't chime in,
primarily because they believe they were hurt by the issue in 2000 and 2004,
but most privately agree.
What most discussions of this issue tend to ignore is that we have two
tracks of political debate and two sets of laws on gun control. At the
federal level, there has been a push for more gun control laws since John
Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and some modest restrictions have been
passed. At the state level, something entirely different has taken place.
In 1987, Florida passed a law allowing citizens who could demonstrate that
they were law-abiding and had sufficient training to obtain permits on
demand to own and carry concealed weapons. In the succeeding 20 years, many
other states have passed such laws, so that today you can, if you meet the
qualifications, carry concealed weapons in 40 states with 67 percent of the
nation's population (including Vermont, with no gun restrictions at all).
When Florida passed its concealed-weapons law, I thought it was a terrible
idea. People would start shooting each other over traffic altercations;
parking lots would turn into shooting galleries. Not so, it turned out. Only
a very, very few concealed-weapons permits have been revoked. There are only
rare incidents in which people with concealed-weapons permits have used them
unlawfully. Ordinary law-abiding people, it turns out, are pretty
trustworthy.
I'm not the only one to draw such a conclusion. When she was Michigan's
attorney general, Democrat Jennifer Granholm opposed the state's
concealed-weapons law, which took effect in 2001. But now, as governor,
she's not seeking its repeal. She says that her fears -- like those I had
about Florida's law 20 years ago -- proved to be unfounded.
So far as I know, there are no politically serious moves to repeal any
state's concealed-weapons laws. In most of the United States, as you go to
work, shop at the mall, go to restaurants and walk around your neighborhood,
you do so knowing that some of the people you pass by may be carrying a gun.
You may not even think about it. But that's all right. Experience has shown
that these people aren't threats.
Virginia has a concealed-weapons law. But Virginia Tech was, by the decree
of its administrators, a "gun-free zone." Those with concealed-weapons
permits were not allowed to take their guns on campus and were disciplined
when they did. A bill was introduced in the state House of Delegates to
allow permit-holders to carry guns on campus. When it was sidetracked, a
Virginia Tech administrator hailed the action and said that students,
professors and visitors would now "feel safe" on campus.
Tragically, they weren't safe. Virginia Tech's "gun-free zone" was not
gun-free. In contrast, killers on other campuses were stopped by faculty or
bystanders who had concealed-weapons permits and brandished their guns to
stop the killing.
We may hear more about gun control at the national level. The D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals recently ruled that the District of Columbia's ban on
handguns violates the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms."
Judge Laurence Silberman's strong opinion argues that this is consistent
with the Supreme Court's ruling in a 1939 case upholding a federal law
banning sawed-off shotguns. Limited regulation is allowed, Silberman wrote,
but not a total ban. Somewhere on the road between a law banning possession
of nuclear weapons and banning all guns, the Second Amendment stands in the
way. This is the view as well of the liberal constitutional law scholar
Laurence Tribe. The Supreme Court may take the case, which is in conflict
with other circuits' rulings.
If it upholds the D.C. decision, there is still room for reasonable gun
regulation. The mental health ruling on the Virginia Tech killer surely
should have been entered into the instant check database to prevent him from
buying guns. The National Rifle Association is working with gun control
advocate Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., to improve that database.
But even as we fine-tune laws to make sure guns don't get into the wrong
hands, maybe the opinion elites will realize that in places where gun
ownership is widespread, we're safer than in a "gun-free zone."
Feeling Safe Isn't Safe
By Michael Barone
Monday, April 30, 2007
The murders two weeks ago at Virginia Tech naturally set off a cry in the
usual quarters -- The New York Times, the London-based Economist -- for
stricter gun-control laws. Democratic officeholders didn't chime in,
primarily because they believe they were hurt by the issue in 2000 and 2004,
but most privately agree.
What most discussions of this issue tend to ignore is that we have two
tracks of political debate and two sets of laws on gun control. At the
federal level, there has been a push for more gun control laws since John
Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and some modest restrictions have been
passed. At the state level, something entirely different has taken place.
In 1987, Florida passed a law allowing citizens who could demonstrate that
they were law-abiding and had sufficient training to obtain permits on
demand to own and carry concealed weapons. In the succeeding 20 years, many
other states have passed such laws, so that today you can, if you meet the
qualifications, carry concealed weapons in 40 states with 67 percent of the
nation's population (including Vermont, with no gun restrictions at all).
When Florida passed its concealed-weapons law, I thought it was a terrible
idea. People would start shooting each other over traffic altercations;
parking lots would turn into shooting galleries. Not so, it turned out. Only
a very, very few concealed-weapons permits have been revoked. There are only
rare incidents in which people with concealed-weapons permits have used them
unlawfully. Ordinary law-abiding people, it turns out, are pretty
trustworthy.
I'm not the only one to draw such a conclusion. When she was Michigan's
attorney general, Democrat Jennifer Granholm opposed the state's
concealed-weapons law, which took effect in 2001. But now, as governor,
she's not seeking its repeal. She says that her fears -- like those I had
about Florida's law 20 years ago -- proved to be unfounded.
So far as I know, there are no politically serious moves to repeal any
state's concealed-weapons laws. In most of the United States, as you go to
work, shop at the mall, go to restaurants and walk around your neighborhood,
you do so knowing that some of the people you pass by may be carrying a gun.
You may not even think about it. But that's all right. Experience has shown
that these people aren't threats.
Virginia has a concealed-weapons law. But Virginia Tech was, by the decree
of its administrators, a "gun-free zone." Those with concealed-weapons
permits were not allowed to take their guns on campus and were disciplined
when they did. A bill was introduced in the state House of Delegates to
allow permit-holders to carry guns on campus. When it was sidetracked, a
Virginia Tech administrator hailed the action and said that students,
professors and visitors would now "feel safe" on campus.
Tragically, they weren't safe. Virginia Tech's "gun-free zone" was not
gun-free. In contrast, killers on other campuses were stopped by faculty or
bystanders who had concealed-weapons permits and brandished their guns to
stop the killing.
We may hear more about gun control at the national level. The D.C. Circuit
Court of Appeals recently ruled that the District of Columbia's ban on
handguns violates the Second Amendment's right "to keep and bear arms."
Judge Laurence Silberman's strong opinion argues that this is consistent
with the Supreme Court's ruling in a 1939 case upholding a federal law
banning sawed-off shotguns. Limited regulation is allowed, Silberman wrote,
but not a total ban. Somewhere on the road between a law banning possession
of nuclear weapons and banning all guns, the Second Amendment stands in the
way. This is the view as well of the liberal constitutional law scholar
Laurence Tribe. The Supreme Court may take the case, which is in conflict
with other circuits' rulings.
If it upholds the D.C. decision, there is still room for reasonable gun
regulation. The mental health ruling on the Virginia Tech killer surely
should have been entered into the instant check database to prevent him from
buying guns. The National Rifle Association is working with gun control
advocate Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., to improve that database.
But even as we fine-tune laws to make sure guns don't get into the wrong
hands, maybe the opinion elites will realize that in places where gun
ownership is widespread, we're safer than in a "gun-free zone."